I’ve been putting off writing a mid-season analysis of the 2010-11 college basketball season for quite some time (well, since the midway point) now and, really, I’m not exactly jonesing to get it done. Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s not because I haven’t enjoyed this season. I have. In fact, I don’t remember the last college basketball season that I’ve followed more closely than this one. There’s a lot of star power out there, but for the first time in a while, it’s the teams that are stars and not the players. And I love that. There is no true freshman or sophomore sensation sweeping the nation this year. Some would argue that Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger is, but think back to John Wall, Blake Griffin, and Michael Beasley the previous three years. Those guys dominated the press coverage like Sullinger hasn’t. And for good reason. The team Sullinger is on is more complete than last year’s Kentucky team, 2009’s Oklahoma team, or Beasley’s 2008 Kansas State team. Sullinger has David Lighty, Jon Diebler, and William Buford all averaging double-digit points per game. Ohio State goes 8 deep really well (Dallas Lauderdale was playing 25 minutes per game last year. Now he’s the seventh man on this team). And they’re well-coached and well-disciplined. In short, they’re a complete team.

And that sort of comes to my point about my excitement, or lack thereof, for writing: I can only really see a handful of teams with a legitimate shot at a title. In years past, you could see more teams getting there because of stars leading a team. Like Rose did in Memphis in 2008. Look, that Memphis team had Chris Douglas-Roberts and Joey Dorsey and went deep on the bench, but that was Rose’s team. And you knew that stopping Rose stopped the Tigers. With this season’s Ohio State team (and that’s just an example) you can try to stop Sullinger inside and get hurt by Diebler (49.5% from 3) and Lighty (45% from 3). As a team, Ohio State shoots 50% from the field (4th in the nation). Stopping one guy does not stop Ohio State.

Now, this scenario will be very sexy come the time for the Elite 8. That weekend of the tournament will be epic. Games where strategy, rather than stars, wins. We haven’t seen those recently. And so I’m excited for the end of March. As for the rest of the regular season? And the first two rounds of the tournament? I don’t know that we’re going to see a lot of surprises, upsets, and compelling story lines.

So why not invent some???? Here are my top three potential story lines that could make the time between now and March 26 (the start of the Elite 8) just a little more exciting:

3. Kyrie Irving and the Duke Blue Devils

Mike Krzyzewski has remained mostly mum on the status of injured freshman guard Kyrie Irving. In short, Irving was the most impressive freshman I’ve seen this century. Better than Wall. Better than Rose. He was complete in every sense. It says a lot that the Devils have only lost once since he went down against Butler in early December. If he comes back this season, I’ll push all of my chips to the center of the table for the Devils. Without him, Duke is great. But how great? And so we sit and wait. Maybe Krzyzewski is playing opossum and Irving will return in late February to get in shape for a March run. Or maybe he’s really done for the season. Just know that I think about this way more than I should.

2. Rock Chalk

Kansas can go undefeated. Before Irving’s injury, I said the same about Duke. Now, if someone can do it, it’s not San Diego State (more on that in a moment) or Ohio State (they’ll lose in Champaign on January 22). No, the team that can go undefeated is Kansas. And it has nothing to do with schedule. Kansas has a couple of roadblocks on the schedule (at Mizzou to close out the season, and at a struggling Kansas State team in mid-February that will need a win to stay alive for the tournament (and even that might not help the Wildcats)). But Kansas is much better than Missouri and Kansas State. I expected Kansas to struggle a bit last night with the size and length of Baylor. Instead, they won by 20. Kansas is better this year, more balanced this year, than when they won the National Title in 2008. The Morris twins give the Jayhawks interior toughness they haven’t had in a long time (apologies to Darrell Arthur, Nick Collison, and Cole Aldrich). Meanwhile, they can bury you from outside. No team in the country shoots better than the Jayhawks. And no team in the country is deeper than the Jayhawks (10 players averaging 14+ minutes per game). Do I think Kansas finishes the regular season undefeated? Yes, I do.

1. The Mountain West race

Look, I won’t blame you if you don’t care about a conference whose games show up on the CBS College Sports Network. But you’re missing some really good, physical basketball. The MWC is the Big East of the West and the fourth best conference in college hoops (after the Big East, Big 12, and Big 10). The current top 10 features 4 Big East teams, 2 Big 12 teams, 1 Big 10 team, 1 ACC team, and 2 Mountain West teams. And it’s not just luck. San Diego State (the nation’s 6th ranked team) is a legitimate Final Four team. No novelty needed. They’re relatively deep, offensively rebound as well as anyone, shoot well, and are tough as nails when they need to be. Rather than try to get teams to play their game, the Aztecs adapt to their opponents game and do it better than them. UNLV tried to outwork the Aztecs defensively. They lost. New Mexico tried to outrun the Aztecs. They lost. And UNLV and New Mexico are tournament teams. San Diego State is undefeated and on a collision course towards the potential regular season game of the year, not just in the American Southwest, but in all the country, on Wednesday January 26 in Provo, Utah against BYU.

BYU wants to out shoot you. And more often than not, they do. The Cougars are led by Jimmer Fredette. If you haven’t heard of Jimmer, don’t worry, I didn’t spell “Jimmy” incorrectly. He’s known as just “Jimmer” or “The Jimmer (my preference).” He is the sharpshooter’s sharpshooter. Fredette leads the nation in scoring at 26 PPG and leads the Cougars in assists. He’s the kind of player the media loves. He’s a white Mormon named Jimmer, whose brother is a Mormon rapper, who may be the best player in college basketball. I mean, c’mon, right?

But while Jimmer might seem like a novelty, he’s not. He’s the real deal. More so than Adam Morrison was. Jimmer is an NBA player, not just some four year national love affair. He’s played well as BYU’s PG this season and in the right environment, will be a real good NBA guard. His range is limitless and he has a swagger that a guy like Adam Morrison clearly lacked. Don’t expect The Jimmer to grow a porn-stache.

I’d be remiss if I made the MWC all about SDSU and BYU. New Mexico, UNLV, and to a lesser extent, Colorado State have all played well this season. UNLV intrigues me the most of this group because they’re a really good defensive club. UNLV is an outside shooter away from being where the Cougars and Aztecs are. They’ve beaten Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, and Kansas State already this season and outside of a fluke loss to UC-Santa Barbara, should be a Top 25-ranked team.

So who wins the MWC? San Diego State. I think the Aztecs win a classic in Provo next Wednesday night. Stay up (10 pm Eastern), find the CBS College Sports Network, sit back, and enjoy. I don’t think the Aztecs can do the undefeated season. They’ll slip up somewhere, against someone they probably shouldn’t. And frankly, it would be better for them. If I had to guess where they lose, I’d say UNLV gets them when they play in Vegas on February 12th.

So who wins it all? Here’s the list of teams that I think can win the title. It’s worth noting from the outset that no team from the Big East finds themselves here. If there’s anything I’ve learned from watching the war of attrition that is the Big East schedule, it’s that those teams are not conditioned to playing fast teams like Kansas and Duke. Heck, look at last year. Syracuse, a 1 seed, was eliminated in the Sweet 16 by a small, sharpshooting team in Butler. Georgetown, a 3 seed, lost in the First Round to an Ohio team that killed the Hoyas with quickness. Pittsburgh lost in Round 2 to a guard-dominated, perimeter Xavier team. And Marquette lost in Round 1 to the ultimate in quick, guard-dominated teams in Washington. Any one of this year’s Big East teams would be eliminated in a Sweet 16 matchup with a team like Missouri or Washington. And so knowing that they’ll each have to play a quick, guard laden team, I just can’t see any of them hoisting a trophy in early April.

The Favorites (ranked)
1. Kansas: See above.
Possible Fatal Flaw: Occasional laziness from the Morris twins.

2. Duke: There’s something to be said for a team that’s been there and done that. Duke has players who’ve gone through the March grind. In fact, they don’t just have players who’ve done it, they have leaders, in Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith.
Possible Fatal Flaw: Total lack of size. This Duke team would get killed by Kansas under most circumstances.

3. Ohio State: See above.
Possible Fatal Flaw: That we’re overrating them. I’ve yet to see Ohio State play 40 minutes this season (like, literally, as in I have only watched bits and pieces of them). They’ve frankly underwhelmed me thus far, from what I’ve seen. And I’m not a fan of the Big 10. Ohio State can play up to the speed of the elites, if they have to. But they haven’t had to, yet. The skill is there. It’s a matter of putting it together like they did in 2007.

They Can Do It (Maybe)
1. Any one of: Syracuse, Pittsburgh, UConn, or Villanova

2. San Diego State: They’re complete. They’re effective. They can play a number of styles. They have a great player in Kawhi Leonard and a very, very good coach in Steve Fisher. If their name was “North Carolina” everyone would be a believer. Because they’re a team from the oh-so inferior Mountain West (SARCASM!) they won’t be treated as they should be.
Fatal Flaw: As good as BYU and UNLV are, SDSU has not and will not see the athletes that Kansas can run out there. 10 deep at that.

3. Michigan State: Right now, they’re hanging around in the weeds, waiting until March. They’re a veteran team who played a rough non-conference schedule, coached by one of the greatest college coaches of all time. You can sell them short all you want. I’m at the Spartan party.
Fatal Flaw: Lack of athleticism as a team. Duke beat them by 5 at Cameron, with Kyrie Irving. The score doesn’t reflect it, but Duke beat them much worse than by 5 points. They outran the Spartans all night. If Michigan State can get their opponent to play their game, the athleticism thing isn’t a problem. But if, say, Kansas, forces the issue, Michigan State should get left in the dust.

4. BYU: Jimmer can get hot.
Fatal Flaw: Jimmer needs to get very hot for a month. That’s a lot to ask.

They Really Can’t Do It, But I Feel Like Talking About Them At Random
1. Kansas State: I don’t recall a more frustrating team to watch in the last five years. They’re incredibly talented. That’s about it. To say that the Wildcats have no team leadership would be like saying Young Jeezy has no street cred. I watch this team play and I spend most of the time shaking my head. Early, off-balanced shots. Lazy defense. And zero accountability. Frank Martin should not have a job after this season. Kansas State’s preseason top five ranking was deserved, on paper. They proved early on, with embarrassing performances against Duke, Florida, and UNLV that they didn’t deserve that, in real life. Can this team catch fire? Honestly, watching them, no. They can’t. I’m not sure they’ll even make the tournament. And that’s a shame for the fans in the Little Apple, who came in expecting a run at a title, as I did.

2. Baylor: Another thoroughly disappointing team. Baylor’s athleticism is off the charts. With Kyrie Irving’s injury, Baylor has the likely first overall pick in June’s NBA draft in Perry Jones III. They also have an excellent pure scorer in LaceDarius Dunn. Jones III and Dunn are complimented by a group of swingmen with infinite wingspans who can jump out of the gym. The question after a little more than half the season is if they can play basketball while jumping out of the gym. So far, the jury is still out. I watched them play zero interior defense last night against Kansas. I mean, Brady Morningstar could have been playing the 5 and he would have produced last night. This team, unlike Kansas State, can make a serious run at the Final Four. Whereas Kansas State has a personality issue, Baylor has an execution issue. You can fix that in two months. Kansas State needs a complete makeover.

3. Texas A&M: You know, it’s cute that they’re a top 10 team and all, but consider that their biggest win of the season was a two point, home, overtime victory over an inconsistent Missouri team on Saturday. Texas A&M’s only loss of the season was to Boston College. The same Boston College team that lost to Yale and Harvard. So, yeah, I’m not a big believer in Mark Turgeon and the Aggies.

4. Purdue: If Robbie Hummel had knees, they’d be in the group with Kansas, Duke, and Ohio State.

5. Saint Mary’s: They have two losses this season. They are to San Diego State and BYU. They’re 7th in the nation in scoring offense, 2nd in assists, and 2nd in FG %. “Watch out,” is all I’m saying. You were warned when everyone says, “How did that team end up in the Sweet 16?”

6. Gonzaga: This could be the end of the run for America’s Cinderella.

It is the end of the run for this post. Enjoy the remainder of the regular season. There might not be a lot of reasons to watch until March, but I’ll certainly be watching.

This is my 200th post and I couldn’t use this milestone (?) (work with me here) on a better topic or at a better time than after a great college football game, at 12:30 AM.

Every so often, a game comes along that, on paper, seems to embody all that is wonderful about sport and competition. Tonight’s BCS National Championship fits that bill. And then some.

I love tournaments. You love tournaments. I love football. You love football. I think quarterbacks are important. You think…okay you get the picture.

But who’s the best quarterback in the NFL? And not just “the best (Peyton Manning),” but who would you want for your franchise’s future, starting right now. Contracts versus contracts. Potential versus previous success. It’s all so exciting.

We’ll look at the primary QBs for each of the 32 NFL teams, going forward this season, but with some common sense. Tim Tebow is likely not the starter in Denver next year. Just like Shaun Hill and Jon Kitna aren’t the starters for Detroit and Dallas. And for Tennessee, why not go with Rusty Smith (besides the obvious fact being that he’s terrible)? In the curious case of the Carolina Panthers, who are starting a fresh pile of manure every week at QB, let’s just go with Jimmy Clausen for the heck of it (sorry Keith Null). And for Minnesota, are you convinced that Brett Favre isn’t coming back?

Each quarterback will be seeded 1-8, in four different regions with the seeding being based upon their team’s current record in the NFL. So with the Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, New England Patriots, and Baltimore Ravens (we’re going to alphabetical in instances of tied records because figuring out the tiebreaking scenario between 7 teams for the sake of a blog post, isn’t exactly a wise use of time) being our top 4 teams, Matt Ryan, Mark Sanchez, Tom Brady, and Joe Flacco get our number one seeds. And so on, and so forth. Each region will be named for a great QB of the past. Analysis where necessary.

Round 1
Steve Young Region
1.) Matt Ryan (ATL)
vs.
8.) Jimmy Clausen (CAR)
Matt Ryan wins this easily. Nothing I’ve seen from Clausen in his rookie year lends itself to future success. Meanwhile, Ryan is quickly evolving into a top 7 QB.

4.) Matt Cassel (KCC)
vs.
5.) Donovan McNabb (WAS)
Cassel wins because of youth and because he seems to be evolving into a better QB, while McNabb just exists.

3.) Ben Roethlisberger (PIT)
vs.
6.) Colt McCoy (CLE)
I really think this is closer than I ever would have expected. Roethlisberger makes big money (12 million per). McCoy makes little money ($1.25 million per). It’s hard to believe, but Big Ben is only 4 years older than Colt. Big Ben has also won 2 Super Bowls. But Big Ben is also one misstep away from a year long suspension. Meanwhile, McCoy has shown flashes of near-brilliance in his rookie campaign. Call me crazy, but for my franchise’s future, I’m taking Colt McCoy.

2.) Jay Cutler (CHI)
vs.
7.) Troy Smith (SFO)
Jay Cutler, as mistake prone as he is, gets a good draw here and advances.

John Elway Region
1.) Mark Sanchez (NYJ)
vs.
8.) Matthew Stafford (DET)
I think Stafford is the better QB, but Stafford has also shown himself to be less than durable. Meanwhile, Sanchez is a winner and he’s healthy. And a little cheaper. And more marketable. Tough break for Stafford, drawing Sanchez.

4.) Eli Manning (NYG)
vs.
5.) Rusty Smith (TEN)
If there’s a bigger mismatch on here, Lord help us. Rusty Smith was an inferior college QB. He lacked the tools necessary to be elite at Florida Atlantic. Why an NFL team drafted him, I’ll never know. How he’s starting for an NFL team as a rookie, I don’t want to know.

3.) Josh Freeman (TBB)
vs.
6.) Derek Anderson (ARI)
You see that bandwagon driving by with Josh Freeman’s face on it? I’m driving.

2.) Aaron Rodgers (GBP)
vs.
7.) Brett Favre (MIN)
Funny how this draw happened. This is actually a pretty huge mismatch too, no offense to Rusty Smith.
Otto Graham Region
1.) Tom Brady (NEP)
vs.
8.) Carson Palmer (CIN)
Carson Palmer’s inflated numbers, put up in garbage time, aside, Tom Brady is and always will be, superior to Carson.

4.) Chad Henne (MIA)
vs.
5.) Matt Hasselbeck (SEA)
This is a can’t win matchup. In that it “can’t win” the next round. I’ll take Henne because of his youth.

3.) Peyton Manning (IND)
vs.
6.) Sam Bradford (STL)
Here is the most fascinating matchup of Round 1. Two #1 overall QBs. One is 34 years old. The other is 23 years old. One has won a Super Bowl, multiple MVPs, and is widely regarded as the best QB of this generation, or perhaps any. The other is a rookie, throwing to guys whose wives don’t recognize them on the street. And yet he’s still on pace for 3500 yards passing and 20+ TDs, while keeping his INTs down. The other guy threw 28 INTs in his rookie season. Look, I’m going to level with you here. Manning, today, is a much better QB than Sam Bradford is. But is he necessarily always going to be better than Bradford ever could be? What this boils down to is Peyton Manning for the next 4 or 5 years or Sam Bradford for the next 14 or 15. I want Bradford. A franchise quarterback is terribly valuable. Especially one as marketable as Sam. Especially one as smart as Sam. Sounds a lot like Peyton, no? I almost feel bad not taking Manning, but his career isn’t going to last forever. Bradford’s potential is limitless.

2.) Drew Brees (NOS)
vs.
7.) Kyle Orton (DEN)
This is far easier than the previous one.

Dan Marino Region
1.) Joe Flacco (BAL)
vs.
8.) Ryan Fitzpatrick (BUF)
This is closer than you think. I’ll take Flacco for now.

4.) Jason Campbell (OAK)
vs.
5.) Phillip Rivers (SDG)
Moving on….

3.) David Garrard (JAX)
vs.
6.) Matt Schaub (HOU)
Moving on….

2.) Michael Vick (PHI)
vs.
7.) Tony Romo (DAL)
Another fascinating matchup and by far this region’s most interesting. Vick is 30. Romo is 30. Vick is due to make some serious change. Romo already makes serious change. Vick has been questioned his entire career. Romo has been questioned his entire career. Vick spent two years in prison for running a dogfighting ring out of his home. Tony Romo dated Jessica Simpson. Vick makes a living with his feet and can throw really well. Romo makes a living with his arm and can run pretty well. I’m going to take Romo as my franchise QB. He might not be “a winner,” but neither is Vick, frankly. I’m not sure how to market Vick. Reformed monster? Electric superstar who’s one strike away from career expulsion from the league and almost got there this summer? It’s a hornet’s nest. Vick might be the most exciting player in the league, but they don”t give trophies for that.

Round 2
Steve Young Region
1.) Matt Ryan
vs.
4.) Matt Cassel
In the battle of the Matt’s, the better one wins.

6.) Colt McCoy
vs.
2.) Jay Cutler
FoxSports.com says that Jay Cutler makes $22 million per season. I’ll take Colt McCoy.

John Elway Region
1.) Mark Sanchez
vs.
4.) Eli Manning
Funny how this worked out with the two New York QBs facing each other. If either of these two played in Kansas City or Seattle, they’d be regarded as elite QBs. Instead, the word “shaky” is used to describe them. And yes, at times, both can be shaky. Sanchez “suffers” from being super attractive. Because he’s so attractive, people will have a hard time taking him seriously as an NFL QB. Eli suffers from being Peyton’s younger, dopier looking brother. Because of that, people have a hard time taking him seriously. Both guys are paid quite a lot of money. I’m going with the younger guy and the guy who I like more: Sanchez. He has a moxie that Eli clearly lacks. Sanchez is funny and engaging and marketable. Eli sells rich people’s watches because he plays for the Giants and has a familiar last name. I also think Sanchez is ahead of Eli’s career curve at this point.

3.) Josh Freeman
vs.
2.) Aaron Rodgers
I love how far Josh Freeman has come along. But I am not insane.

Otto Graham Region
1.) Tom Brady
vs.
4.) Chad Henne
I’ve talked a lot about age here and made it the determining factor between two QBs who are close in potential vs. previous success. This is not one of those instances.

6.) Sam Bradford
vs.
2.) Drew Brees
I took Bradford because of his youth and near limitless potential against Peyton Manning. And here I am stuck with the same battle. Brees is three years younger than Peyton. But Peyton is a better QB than Brees. But this isn’t about Brees vs. Manning. It’s about Brees vs. Bradford. And I’m taking Brees. Barely. But I’m taking Brees because he’s the ideal face for an NFL franchise right now and for the next 8 years. He might not have Sam’s measureables. But he’s a franchise face right now; not in two or three years. It’s very close and Bradford is probably going to prove me wrong in 5 years. But today, Brees just edges him out.

Dan Marion Region
1.) Joe Flacco
vs.
5.) Phillip Rivers
This isn’t close at all. Rivers in a landslide. Flacco’s “potential” continues to decrease every game, seemingly. Rivers’ grows.

6.) Matt Schaub
vs.
7.) Tony Romo
Schaub is cheaper, but I’m not sure that he has ever spoken and he has never shown himself to be a winner. Romo has taken teams to the playoffs and Romo can lead a team. I refuse to believe that Romo is to blame for Dallas’ underachieving during his tenure as starting QB.

Round 3
Steve Young Region
1.) Matt Ryan
vs.
6.) Colt McCoy
Colt McCoy’s dream run had to come to a close some time. This was the time. I’ve been so impressed with Matt Ryan’s development. Once he starts consistently winning road games, he’ll catapult into the top 5 in the NFL. He has that much skill. McCoy may never be a top QB.

John Elway Region
1.) Mark Sanchez
vs.
2.) Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers has tools that few other QBs have. He’s mobile, nearly perfect in accuracy, vocal, but not too vocal, easy to root for, and not terribly expensive. Sanchez is going to be very good, but perhaps not elite like Rodgers is.

Otto Graham Region
1.) Tom Brady
vs.
2.) Drew Brees
By far the most difficult of these matchups. Brady has won 3 Super Bowls. Brees has won 1. Brees is two years younger than Brady. Both are already elite QBs and show no signs of letting that fade. I’m going to take Brady here. The previous knee injury worries me a little, but not much. The reason why I’m going with Brady is because he’s a proven, repeated winner. And he’s done it with awful teams. Not subpar. Awful. Antoine Smith? Deion Branch? Benjamin Watson? These are the guys that Brady has won with. Almost in spite of. This is no slight to Brees. He’s great. Brady, though, is an almost perfect QB. And perfection is hard to turn away from.

Dan Marino Region
5.) Phillip Rivers
vs.
7.) Tony Romo
Phillip Rivers hasn’t reached his full potential yet. That’s really scary.

Final Four
1.) Matt Ryan vs. 2.) Aaron Rodgers
At first, I thought that I should labor over this decision. I shouldn’t. Rodgers is only a year older and is much closer to reaching his full potential, which I think is greater than Ryan’s, ultimately. This really isn’t too difficult.

1.) Tom Brady vs. 5.) Phillip Rivers
This one is. Well, until you remember that Phillip Rivers’ career playoff record is 3-4 and he’s thrown more INTs than TDs. Brady is 14-4 in the postseason. And his TD/INT ratio? Nearly 2:1. Brady might be four years older, but I’m not totally stupid. Rivers has had a great season and put up historic numbers. But he’s not the winner that Tom Brady is. And who knows if he’ll ever get there.

Championship
2.) Aaron Rodgers vs. 1.) Tom Brady
Rodgers has started one career playoff game and threw for 4 TD and over 400 yards. He only threw one INT. He lost that game. So Brady has the better career postseason winning percentage. But Rodgers is 26 years old. He has at least a decade ahead of him, maybe more. Rodgers is already an elite QB in just his third season as a starter. He doesn’t make mistakes and throws for a ton of yards.4000 yards in your first season as a starter is wildly impressive. Rodgers did it. Just three years ago. Brady doesn’t need me to write any glowing words about him. He’s a surefire Hall of Famer, 5 years to the day of his retirement. He’s one of the five best QBs of all-time. But this is Aaron Rodgers’ time. And he may very well be in that top 5 with Brady some day. I’m willing to bet the future on it.

Champion
Aaron Rodgers

I have 3 blog ideas and 3 days this week before the holiday. Seems like simple math, right? I want to rank the starting QBs in the NFL (a power ranking for the future, if you will), I want to do a full college football bowl projection (because I enjoy wasting your and my time) and finally I want to take inventory of the NFL season. Idea number 3 is the least interesting, so in the vein of how I live my life, we’re going with that one first.

Last month, I took a look at the NFC and believe I may have used the words “terrible,” “horrible,” “no good,” and “very bad” to describe it. That was actually very wrong of me. The NFC certainly has it’s holes (The playoff bound Chicago Bears, the NFC West, Brian St. Pierre, etc) but there’s a lot to be excited about there. Including three potential Super Bowl champions. But we’ll start with the AFC.

(Rankings 1-6 for who I think will make it to the playoffs)

AFC
1. New York Jets (12-4)
I’ve read a few scribes today downgrading the Jets because their last three wins came against the Lions, Browns, and Texans and were not done in convincing fashion. I understand that to a certain extent. I also understand that if you’re 8-2 after 10 games, you’re a pretty good football team. I also realize that the Jets beat the Patriots in their only game so far in 2010. I also realize that the Jets find a way to win their games, and are being led by a quarterback with 15 TDs, 7 INTs, and 2300 Yards passing. Yes, the Jets QB is on pace for a 26 TD, 11 INT, 4000 Yard season. And still, people criticize him like it’s a hobby. If the Jets were the Indianapolis Colts, we’d be going crazy, head over heels for them. But because it’s the Jets, we need to nitpick. I for one, am not nitpicking. They’re the best team in the AFC.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5)
You tell me who’s second best in the AFC: New England beat the Steelers and the Ravens. The Ravens beat the Jets. But the Jets beat New England. And the Ravens beat the Steelers. But the Steelers were playing without their starting quarterback. And the Steelers beat Atlanta. Who beat Baltimore. Who, yes, beat Pittsburgh. It all comes down to matchups. And Pittsburgh has some easy ones left on their schedule. Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Carolina. The other two games? Of course, the Ravens and Jets. The Steelers are an enigma. The losses to New England and New Orleans concern me. But the Ravens have the same record and despite a head-to-head win, may be more enigmatic than the Steelers.

3. Indianapolis Colts (10-6)
Sorry, I can’t commit myself to giving a David Garrard QB’d team a 3 seed in the playoffs. I don’t care if Jacob Tamme and Blair White are key targets for Peyton Manning. The South is very winnable for the Colts.

4. Kansas City Chiefs (9-7)
They’re undefeated at home and they’ve already gotten their hardest home test (San Diego) out of the way. All they need to do is find a way to win 1 or 2 road games and they’ll sneak in.

5. New England Patriots (12-4)
For what it’s worth, I think they finish in a tie with the Jets, but New York wins the tiebreaker and the bye. The offense is great. The defense, well, not so great.

6. Baltimore Ravens (11-5)
Ray Rice has 3 TDs heading into Week 12. Joe Flacco has not developed into a 4,000 yard passer. Anquan Boldin may have been kidnapped a few weeks ago. And Billy Cundiff will have to win a key game for them down the stretch, right? But then again, remember when they shut out the Jets in the Meadowlands? And do you really trust Mark Sanchez to win a cold weather game?

Baltimore beats Indianapolis and New England beats Kansas City
Baltimore beats New York and New England beats Pittsburgh

AFC Championship: Baltimore beats New England (Shayne Graham misses a GW FG, and Billy Cundiff proves me wrong)

NFC
1. Green Bay Packers (12-4)
Green Bay plays at Atlanta this weekend, goes into the Georgia Dome, and punches the Falcons in the mouth.

2. Atlanta Falcons (12-4)
Green Bay plays at Atlanta this weekend, goes into the Georgia Dome, and punches the Falcons in the mouth. I know that Atlanta has been nearly unbeatable under Mike Smith at home, but the Packers look like they’re on a mission now that they’re healthy. And I don’t think the Falcons are a tough football team.

3. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5)
I’m nervous every time Michael Vick runs to his right. Imagine how Andy Reid feels. Still, when they’re on, they’re more fun to watch than the 1999 Rams.

4. Seattle Seahawks (8-8)
It makes me want to cry. But do you think St. Louis can win a game on the road?

5. New Orleans Saints (11-5)
Flying WAY under the radar right now. They’re slow start may have blinded you to the fact that they’re 7-3. And playing good football since that loss to the Browns.

6. New York Giants (10-6)
I had to go down to the 4th tiebreaker (strength of victory) before giving the Giants the edge over the Buccaneers. Did you know that combined, the Giants and Bucs have won one game against current playoff teams? True story. New York beat Chicago in Week 3. You’ll notice that I don’t have Chicago making the playoffs. Carry on.

Philadelphia beats New York and New Orleans beats Seattle
Green Bay beats New Orleans and Philadelphia beats Atlanta (sidebar: How awesome would that story be if Vick returns to Atlanta in the playoffs?)

NFC Championship Green Bay beats Philadelphia

Super Bowl: Green Bay beats Baltimore.

And yes, if you’re a smart reader, you know that was my preseason prediction.

Some Awards

MVP: Peyton Manning (Runners up: Tom Brady, Josh Freeman, Michael Vick)
OROY: Sam Bradford (Runners up: No one is even close. Dez Bryant and Mike Williams get honorable mention)
DROY: NDamukong Suh (Runners up: Earl Thomas, TJ Ward)
Coach of the Year: Brad Childress……Sorry, I imagined the word “non” in there.
Coach of the Year: Bill Belichick
Best Resurrection of a Career, Ever: Michael Vick
Worst Crucifixion of a Career Ever: Brett Favre

Seriously, did you see this turn of events happening 3 years ago? Michael Vick is the most dynamic player in the NFL and a better QB than he ever was in Atlanta. Meanwhile, Brett Favre is mired in a 3-7 season with the Minnesota Vikings while being investigated by the NFL for allegedly sending pictures of his penis to this girl.

I love sports.

I always love my college basketball previews. They’re short and not exactly sweet. I list 8 teams. My final four and my four final four sleepers (current non top 15 teams). I usually hit on a few final four picks (2 of my four last year). A few weeks ago, I would have had Purdue in here, but Purdue will be without star forward Robbie Hummel this season. And with Hummel went Purdue’s national title chances. Without further space-filling, here are my 2010 college basketball picks:

Final Four:
Duke
Michigan State
Pittsburgh
Kansas State

I know it’s chalk. Find me the last non-chalk team to win the National Championship. Thanks.

Final Four Sleepers:
Temple
Brigham Young
Baylor
Washington

That is all. Proceed to not pay attention to college basketball again until after the college football season wraps. See you in mid-January.

I nailed the Divisional Round of the playoffs with stunning accuracy (for me). I then struck out looking, like Ryan Howard in my LCS predictions. So take this World Series primer with either a grain of salt, or as scripture.

Game 1: Cliff Lee v. Tim Lincecum
Advantage: Rangers. I like the Rangers to win Game 1 easily. I see no reason why Cliff Lee, pitching in an expansive park, against a bunch of free swinging hitters, can’t replicate his playoff success. Lincecum, on the other hand, has the real difficult task of facing the best lineup he’s seen all year. Even the bottom of Texas’ lineup (save for Cliff Lee of course) is hitting over .300 this postseason. It’s a real marquee matchup, but Lee’s track record combined with the lineup he’s facing, wins out. Texas wins 3-0.

Game 2: CJ Wilson v. Matt Cain
Advantage: Rangers. Cain, on the surface, is the logical choice. No one walked more batters in baseball this year than did CJ Wilson. However, the Giants aren’t exactly a bunch of patient hitters. I think Wilson can pitch effectively against the Giants lineup. Cain was phenomenal in his only LCS start against Philadelphia, which will be 9 days ago by the time he toes the rubber. Cain also walks a lot of batters. This Rangers lineup will make him pay for that in a way that San Francisco’s won’t to Wilson. Texas wins 5-3.

Game 3: Jonathan Sanchez v. Colby Lewis
Advantage: Rangers. I don’t expect Colby Lewis to pitch in Game 3 of the World Series like he did in Game 6 of the ALCS, even against the Giants. And I think that Sanchez won’t pitch as poorly in Game 3 of the World Series as he did in Game 6 of the NLCS. This is a really interesting matchup. Two completely dissimilar pitchers facing two dissimilar lineups. The Rangers trot out a lot of right-handed batters and I think that could be an issue for Sanchez, who also gives up a ton of walks and is facing a patient lineup. Texas wins, on a hunch, 7-3.

Game 4: Madison Bumgarner v. Tommy Hunter
Advantage: Giants. Not even close. Giants stay alive 6-2.

Game 5: Tim Lincecum v. Cliff Lee
Advantage: Giants. This is where I think the luster starts to wear off a bit on the Cliff Lee playoff mystique. Again, a hunch, but that’s what all of this stuff is. Lee has always pitched in the postseason under some sort of pressure (Game 1s, a big swing Game 3 at Yankee Stadium, a huge Game 5 at Tampa). Here he is coming in up 3-1, after having shut down the Giants in Game 1. Maybe the fire isn’t there. It will be there for Lincecum. Giants win 3-1.

Game 6: CJ Wilson v. Matt Cain
Advantage: Rangers. Barely. I was very tempted to force this to a seventh game. I didn’t. Rangers win 6-5.

Final Prediction: Rangers win 4-2.

Some Thoughts:

-Any talk about how Texas’ hitters are 0-19 against Giants closer Brian Wilson (I’m looking your way Buster Olney) seems foolish to me. That is not an x-factor statistic. No one is expecting Brian Wilson to be the x-factor here. He’s not going to blow saves like he’s Byung Hyun-Kim here. He’s an elite closer, so it’s no surprise the Rangers have struggled to hit him. If the Giants can get it to B-dub, with the lead, I expect them to win. However, there are 8 innings with which they’ll have to find a way to take a lead in to get the ball to their closer.

-I expect Buster Posey to slump horribly in this series. But for one solid game against the Phillies, Posey has been disappointing thus far in his first playoff adventure. Yes, he’s a rookie with a lot of weight on his shoulders, but that’s no reason to just say, “Oh, well it’s not his fault.” It is. He’s in the #4 hole for a reason, people. The pressure is there. The Giants need a good series from Posey to beat the Rangers.

-Vlad Guerrero playing in RF isn’t really that big of a deal. We (and by “we” I mean the media, of which I am not a member) make a big deal about DHs having to play in the field in the World Series. Tell me the last time it’s truly affected the outcome of a game.

-The Giants have the bullpen edge. Big time.

-The Rangers have the offensive edge. Big time.

-The teams are closer in starting pitching than you’d think.

-Series MVP: Elvis Andrus.

-Oh, and Cliff Lee will sign with the Yankees for $140 million over 7 years.

Enjoy this World Series. I heard it said this week, don’t worry about the ratings. If you’re a baseball fan, this is a dream scenario. Ratings mean nothing to you. And it’s true. The crowds in San Francisco and Arlington will be electric. This will be a fun series, even if the Rangers sweep. Two teams that are easy to root for, with a lot of really good guys. This will be a nice end to a very good MLB season.

Quick. Find 21 friends. Okay, that’s not that easy for most people. So just find 21 people. Now, assign each of them and yourself a football position. Done? Good, now you’re a contender for the 2010 NFC championship.

The gods of baseball were very kind to us. We could have been staring down a two week relationship with the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves in the NL and the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays in the AL. Think about those ratings. I vividly remember reading, back in 1998, the notion that ABC executives would be flinging themselves off of headquarters if they were left with Kansas State in the national championship game that year. Thankfully for them, Texas A&M upset the Wildcats in the Big XII title game and instead, ABC executives were treated to Peyton Manning and the Tennessee Volunteers, beating Bobby Bowden’s Florida State Seminoles. I was upset though. I really enjoyed that year’s Kansas State team. As I’ve grown older though, I’ve learned to appreciate marquee matchups, even if I don’t have a true rooting interest. Because I can always develop one if it’s not already there. Because there’s something special about the marquee. And that’s what we’re getting this year in baseball. Not Kansas State and Tennessee. We’re getting the best pitchers in the game, historic blue-bloods, and easy-to-love up and comers from a major media market. So, rejoice Fox and TBS executives. The gods were kind to you, like they were to ABC in 1998.