Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all!

Well, my bowl picks may not be great - but I was right about one thing I said all season: the big ten is an embarrassment. I mean really. Terrible and overrated Iowa & Zook's fighting Illini were able to pull off wins over mediocre Big 12 teams. Also, for all you haters and buckeye fans...remember when I guaranteed Pryor wouldn't win the Heisman and Ohio State wouldn't win the national championship? I think I forgot to say "told you so" - but better late than never. so I'm saying it now. The biggest disappointment so far in a bowl game was Nebraska. I mean, come on, Bo. I know you don't care about the Big 12 anymore...but the Huskers had absolutely no energy in that game and it was pathetic - especially since they really should have been playing UConn in the Fiesta Bowl. But to lose on a neutral field to a team you already embarrassed on their home field? Not cool, Nebraska. But in fairness to the Huskers, they probably want to fit in with the teams in their new conference, and well, the big ten is embarrassing itself. So maybe the Huskers just wanted to follow suit. As some of you know, my brother is a Wisconsin alum. Because of this, he is always telling me how any and every team in the big ten could beat any and every team in the SEC. Well, Florida beat Penn State. Mississippi State beat Michigan. Alabama beat Michigan State. ...I'm just not seeing my brother's logic. I'm still sticking with my pick of Arkansas over Ohio State. Let's face it, the SEC is better than the Big Ten. (And the SEC is the best conference in the country)

As far as the Gator coaching situation, I'm still not sure how I feel about Muschamp. And Charlie Weis? Well, I've never been a big fan. Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised. But he can't be worse than Addazio! And hopefully Brantley won't set foot on the field. Thanks again to Urban Meyer for the 2 national championships!

Gator Men's basketball had a nice outing at Xavier. Don't let us down tonight boys!! Looking forward to another win over the Atlantic 10. Other than tonight's Gator game, other upcoming games I'm looking forward to are UConn-Notre Dame, Arkansas-Texas, BYU-UNLV, UConn-Texas and Minnesota-Ohio State. (Let's go Golden Gophers!) Duke has looked good early with a couple of impressive wins. Ohio State has yet to play a competitive team, so I stand by my belief that the buckeyes are overrated as usual. Kansas hasn't played many tough games yet either, but they look pretty good. I'm undecided on the Big 12 so far, but the Huskers are off to a nice start at 10-2 even though they've played no one. We'll see how they play against Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Missouri...the Big 12 may be the 2nd best conference this year behind the Big East. The Big East in general is looking strong. Definitely stronger than any other conference this year. The ACC is largely disappointing for hoops this season. The Big Ten, as with every sport, is overrated. None of their "fantastic" teams have played anyone yet. Except Michigan State. And they lost to UConn, Duke, Syracuse and Texas. And what gets me is this...later in the season, they will be credited for their fantastic out-of-conference schedule strength even though they lost every tough game. Their most impressive out-of-conference win so far was over no-longer-ranked Washington from the still-down Pac 10 who has zero ranked teams. I'll repeat what I said the last 2 years: Michigan State is overrated. I'm sorry, but if you can't beat Dan Werner, you don't belong in the final four. End of story. The Big East remains my favorite basketball conference. Rutgers was off to a decent start before playing UNC and then beginning its Big East schedule. Pitt, UConn, Syracuse, Villanova, Georgetown, Notre Dame and Louisville are all looking competitive. Although Louisville couldn't quite handle the SEC on New Year's Eve! The SEC seems extremely inconsistent, and I cannot explain the Tennessee Volunteers at all. They can beat Pitt and Villanova, but can't handle Oakland, CofC or Charlotte? I want to credit San Diego State for its 15-0 start, but the toughest team SDSU played is awful Gonzaga. I'm not saying SDSU is bad - I'm just saying I'll withhold my judgment till later in the season. So happy it's basketball season!!

Go Gators!! Go Scarlet Knights!! Go Huskers!!