For the past several years, conferences like the SEC, Big 12, and Pac-10 have been complaining that the Big Ten is overrated. I’m a Big Ten fan, but I can’t say that I disagree. After a 9 – 0 start, Iowa rose out of the ashes of the Big Ten this year, and we all held the hope that this would be the team to challenge Florida or Texas or another awesome team for the National Championship.
It doesn’t look like that will be the case. Today, Iowa fell, but not to Penn State (no, they beat them gloriously – sigh …read more

I’ll be traveling this weekend, so unfortunately, I’ll end up missing most games. Thank god for Sports Center, right? Yes, a chick really did just say that. (I get that a lot.) Here are the games I look forward to hearing about on Sunday morning:

#8 Oklahoma at #17 Miami: Word from Oklahoma is that Sam Bradford still isn’t ready to play, so he won’t be

Sam Bradford, Image: Newscomstarting against Miami. The team may not have a perfect record so far, but the Hurricanes have more than proven that they’re a solid group of players, not just lucky. Without Bradford, I …read more

We’re getting to the point where most teams are actually starting to play some real games now. I say “most” because my beloved Penn State is playing Temple this weekend. You know when Temple last beat PSU? 1941. I mean, they haven’t played every year…but still.
I digress. Let’s check out the AP Top 10 this week:

Florida
Texas
USC
Alabama
Mississippi
Penn State (actually, they’re also #5, it was a tie)
BYU
California
LSU
Boise State

All of the top ten teams are still undefeated, but that’s not surprising since many of them had super easy games the past two weeks – or no game at all (Mississippi already had their …read more

Former Michigan State head coach and athletic director George Perles has recently announced that he intends to throw his hat in the ring to be Michigan’s next governor. He’ll be a part of the Democratic primary in August 2010.
Perles is the CEO of the Motor City Bowl, an MSU board of trustees member, and a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. He says that he’d focus on recruiting should he be voted into office. Essentially, he’d do for the state what he did on the field – try to get more people to come to Michigan.
Name recognition is big in politics, …read more

North Carolina made their fifth college basketball national championship look easy. Up by 21 at the half, North Carolina cruised in the second half to win by a final score of 89-72. Michigan State, although undoubtedly a tough team, simply couldn’t match the talent that the Tar Heels put on the court.
Tyler Hansbrough put an exclamation point on his legendary college career by scoring 18 points and pulling down seven boards. However, the best player on the court had to be Ty Lawson, the speedy point guard for the Tar Heels. Lawson finished the game with 21 points, eight steals, …read more

The team that was suppose to win in Detroit Monday night did.
In the postgame press conference Tyler Hansbrough nonchalantly said that he guessed the decision to come back for his senior season was a good one.
Was it not quite refreshing to see the Tar Heel studs put winning a collegiate title over making millions?
Yep.

On Friday, Plaxico Burress was released by the New York Giants. On Saturday, Burress was in Detroit as he cheered on Michigan State in the Final Four. With Burress leading the cheers, Michigan State won and is heading to the title game.
Burress wasn’t in a talkative mood at the 2009 Final Four contest. The only question he answered was when he said he felt great following his release from the Giants.
Born in Virginia, Burress attended Michigan State before being selected in the 2000 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 6-foot-5 Burress established himself as a wide receiver who was …read more

The 2009 college basketball national championship will be decided on Monday when Michigan State takes on North Carolina. The game, which will take place in Detroit, will be a rematch of a contest in December that had North Carolina beat up on Michigan State by a final score of 98-63.
On Saturday, the North Carolina Tar Heels advanced by beating the Villanova Wildcats in the 2009 Final Four 83-69. Point guard Ty Lawson led the way with 22 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals. Wayne Ellington chipped in 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Tyler Hansbrough had …read more

With March coming to an end, March Madness has now successfully taken 65 teams and given us the best four teams in the college basketball world. With the smoke cleared, North Carolina, Connecticut, Michigan State and Villanova are left standing. Here is a look at the best players in the Final Four:
North Carolina
Tyler Hansbrough has had a wildly successful four years for the Tar Heels. He’s a bigman with a great touch around the basket and a tireless worker. However, he’s not the only very good player on North Carolina. Ty Lawson is a lightening quick point guard, while Wayne …read more

Two Big East teams are still kicking. Gus Johnson would still be yelling if he had been the play-by-play guy for the Nova-Pitt game. My National Champion pick (UNC) is still alive and well despite my utter lack of competence everywhere else on the bracket.
Best Story
Forget about Villanova’s impressive run to The Motor City—featuring a ‘why the heck did people pick this team to go to Detroit’ (when they were trailing American by double digits) and ‘this Scottie Reynolds is stinking up the joint’ comments from yours truly—Michigan State takes the cake here. Me hailing from Michigan, what a surprise, huh? Well, …read more