LEBRON JAMES PREGAME IN CLEVELAND

Since I completely missed the "Lebron's return to a franchise he carried for 7 seasons on his back" game including the all important pregame introduction I figured I would give you the chance to see the "electricity" of Cleveland. I honestly had no idea people cared this much about the NBA before tonight. This is in fucking Cleveland. Holy shit! Imagine if Dunkin Donuts left in the middle of the night like the Mayflower trucks in Baltimore. There would be looting, rioting, and pillaging in the streets right now. Drew Carey would shit in his pants.



I'm kind of disappointed. It's not like I was openly rooting for a Monica Seles moment but I wouldn't have minded one deranged fan getting tasered at center court. Give me something Cleveland. I guess they only do that kind of shit in Philadelphia. Oh well. This will probably be my one and only Cleveland post in the next 10 years. Thank god.

CAM NEWTON SONG 6'6 250

"Will Smith is getting edgy with age!" - quotes white balding male

UGA Making Changes After All

Though this isn't official, I've heard UGA is making a few changes to their program. From what I can gather, Joe Tereshinski will be taking over as the Director of the Strength and Conditioning Program and John Kasay Sr. will be hired as an assistant to Joe T. Thanks Seth for the rocking Bulldogs Blog and the insight into the program. Check out The Bulldogs Blog here for a more in depth look at the changes supposedly being implemented starting January 1, 2011.

NOTRE DAME SECURES THE PERFECT SPREAD QB IN EVERETT GOLSON

Notre Dame just landed their quarterback of the future with the commitment of Everett Golson who will also be an early enrollee next month. The last time Notre Dame landed an athletic dual threat quarterback from South Carolina was some guy named Tony Rice. You may have heard of him.

WPDE Sports has learned that Myrtle Beach quarterback Everett Golson has de-committed from the University of North Carolina and will play college football at Notre Dame. Notre Dame had a home visit with Golson on Wednesday and that was when the decision was made.

Golson was an early commitment to North Carolina during his junior year, but with NCAA sanctions looming, the Seahawks quarterback reopened his recruiting. He made an official visit to Notre Dame when the Fighting Irish upset Utah in November.

Golson was invited to the Nike Elite 11 Quarterback camp and is a finalist for South Carolina's Mister Football. He has 22 TD passes and just one INT in six games of action in his senior campaign. Golson suffered a leg and wrist injury in week two, but has returned to the Seahawks in the playoffs and has guided Myrtle Beach to the 3A state championship game for the third straight year.

Golson was a four year starter at Myrtle Beach. He stands a little over 6 feet (think more Drew Brees/Charlie Ward like) and is extremely quick and accurate with his throws. Plus he can run. Brian Kelly got the perfect QB for his system! My condolences go out to Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan, Ohio State, Stanford and North Carolina for losing out to Kelly on this kid.

NEED PROOF USC IS FULL OF SHITBIRDS? WELL THEN CHECK OUT TEAGUE EGAN

Hey brah, how fucking "crucial" is it to have cranberry juice as a chaser for Grey Goose? Jesus H. Christ, is this dickhead on his fucking period or does he just have a giant vagina written all over his face? And what is up with the fucking projection screen? You got a golf cart but you can't dish out some "1st Round Records" money on a plasma. What an asshole! The only thing cool this kid has in his "pad" is his kegerator. If you are in college it is essential to have one. And Valtrex.

This Teague Egan lad is the same kid who got USC RB Dillon Baxter in trouble for riding him around on his golf cart while handing out roofies, I mean brochures for his business. I'm actually kind of shocked Teague didn't have time to show us his rape room. Teague is the type of character Dexter enjoys giving a midnight ride on his Slice of Life charter. It's good to see the culture has changed so much at USC since they have been put on sanctions. You already have Athletic Director and President of the Ultimate Combover Club Pat Haden bitching about how Auburn got off in the Cam Newton fiasco and how it's not fair. It's hysterical since he has Lane Kiffin roaming the sidelines like a recently released pedophile in a windowless cargo van.

God damn USC makes me sick. I'm just glad Notre Dame whooped their ass and nobody on their campus actually gives a shit about the football program anymore. Even Will Ferrell is embarrassed to call himself a Trojan now. I'm pretty sure I saw him wearing one of those Scoregon shirts the other day.

Campus cribs video via The Big Lead

LEBRON JAMES RETURN TO CLEVELAND: THE ODDS

If you haven't heard Lebron Benedict Arnold James returns to Cleveland tonight with his barely .500 Miami Heat squad. It's the first time since Albert Belle returned with the White Sox that a player who was once revered by the home team is now clearly public enemy #1 in Cleveland. It should be interesting. Not really. It's regular season NBA action. It's about as relevant as Derek Jeter's Gold Gloves. Anyways here are some odds on his return in case you are interested in losing some money since investing in good old fashion hooker spit has been paying off for you lately.

These odds come via BoDog.com:

LeBron James Total Points vs. Cleveland: Over/Under 26.5
Will LeBron James have a physical altercation with a fan? Yes 30/1
Will LeBron James do his pregame chalk ritual: Yes 1/50
Matt Fairchild will actually watch any part of the game other than the pregame introductions: 1 billion/1

CAM NEWTON OFFICIALLY DECLARED ELIGIBLE

Image courtesy of AJC.com

According to NCAA.org Cam Newton has been cleared of all charges of impropriety by the NCAA and is free and clear to play. In other words you can stamp Cam Newton on the Heisman Trophy and give Auburn the National Championship in about...oh...5 weeks from now.

Here is the official release...

Auburn University football student-athlete Cam Newton is immediately eligible to compete, according to a decision today by the NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff. The NCAA concluded on Monday that a violation of amateurism rules occurred, therefore Auburn University declared the student-athlete ineligible yesterday for violations of NCAA amateurism rules.

When a school discovers an NCAA rules violation has occurred, it must declare the student-athlete ineligible and may request the student-athlete’s eligibility be reinstated. Reinstatement decisions are made by the NCAA national office staff and can include conditions such as withholding from competition and repayment of extra benefits. Newton was reinstated without any conditions.

According to facts of the case agreed upon by Auburn University and the NCAA enforcement staff, the student-athlete’s father and an owner of a scouting service worked together to actively market the student-athlete as a part of a pay-for-play scenario in return for Newton’s commitment to attend college and play football. NCAA rules (Bylaw 12.3.3) do not allow individuals or entities to represent a prospective student-athlete for compensation to a school for an athletic scholarship.

In conjunction with the case, Auburn University has limited the access Newton’s father has to the athletics program and Mississippi State has disassociated the involved individual.

“The conduct of Cam Newton’s father and the involved individual is unacceptable and has no place in the SEC or in intercollegiate athletics,” said Mike Slive, Southeastern Conference Commissioner. “The actions taken by Auburn University and Mississippi State University make it clear this behavior will not be tolerated in the SEC.”

“Our members have established rules for a fair and equal recruitment of student-athletes, as well as to promote integrity in the recruiting process,” said Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president for academic and membership affairs. “In determining how a violation impacts a student-athlete’s eligibility, we must consider the young person’s responsibility. Based on the information available to the reinstatement staff at this time, we do not have sufficient evidence that Cam Newton or anyone from Auburn was aware of this activity, which led to his reinstatement. From a student-athlete reinstatement perspective, Auburn University met its obligation under NCAA bylaw 14.11.1. Under this threshold, the student-athlete has not participated while ineligible.”

“We are pleased that the NCAA has agreed with our position that Cam Newton has been and continues to be eligible to play football at Auburn University,” Auburn University Director of Athletics Jay Jacobs said. “We appreciate the diligence and professionalism of the NCAA and its handling of this matter. “

During the reinstatement process, NCAA staff review each case on its own merits based on the specific facts. Staff decisions are made based on a number of factors including guidelines established by the Division I NCAA Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement, as well as any mitigating factors presented by the university.

Reinstatement decisions are independent of the NCAA enforcement process and typically are made once the facts of the student-athlete’s involvement are determined. The reinstatement process is likely to conclude prior to the close of an investigation. It is NCAA policy not to comment on current, pending or potential investigations.

There you go. Case closed. Nothing to see here. Moving on.

JUST CURIOUS, WHERE IS THE NATIONAL OUTRAGE OVER THE RANDY SHANNON FIRING?

From the AP...

His voice nearly cracking, Miami athletic director Kirby Hocutt somberly laid out some of the many reasons why Randy Shannon was right for the Hurricanes.
The academic success. Improved recruiting classes. His decades as part of the Miami family.
Then there were 22 reasons that Hocutt couldn't ignore — the games Miami lost under Shannon. In the end, those carried more weight than anything else.

I'm just going to go ahead and point out how ridiculous the media can be when it comes to issues such as racism. About 6 years ago Notre Dame got hammered by the media for firing head coach Tyrone Willingham after only 3 seasons. His record was about the same as Randy Shannon's in Miami and he graduated players too. But Notre Dame was blasted by media personalities such as John Saunders, Mike Wilbon, Mark May, and Jason Whitlock for firing a minority coach before his contract was up. The University of
Miami just did the same thing to Shannon. He took them to 3 bowl games in 4 seasons.

But you won't hear a peep about it because it doesn't involve Notre Dame.

Why is that you ask? Because those 4 media assholes I mentioned earlier now realize they were wrong about the Willingham firing. It had nothing to do with Willingham's skin pigmentation. It had everything to do with the L's on his resume. And the constant golf outings. And now they realize the Shannon firing had nothing to do with him being a minority coach or being able to run a clean program or graduate his kids. In the end all that matters is the wins and losses on your resume.

Unless you lock the son of an ESPN personality in a storage locker. All bets are off then.

BRUCE PEARL CALLS LANE KIFFIN A DUMBASS

From the mouth of Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl to a crowd of people gathered at a Knoxville Quarterback Club:

"I've made mistakes, I clearly did, but what I was hoping for was that some other dumbass would get on the front page and take me off the hook,'' Pearl said. "I miss Lane Kiffin.''

Talk about delivering an all-time zinger. I mean wow. I didn't realize someone as sleazy as Pearl could be so damn funny. Outstanding.

ALABAMA'S LATEST CAM NEWTON "BUYING A TIGER" VIDEO

I gotta hand it to the Bammers out there. The video is funny and ironic. Just to think a Bama fan made it out of Wal-Mart alive to produce such a masterpiece is an accomplishment in itself. I can only imagine the amount of rumors we will hear leading up to Cam Newton winning the Heisman Trophy next week. And God forbid if Auburn actually wins the whole thing. Bama Nation would be on suicide watch.

THE NFL IS RIDICULOUS WITH THEIR FINES

JAMES HARRISON'S HIT ON RYAN FITZPATRICK EQUALS A $25,000 FINE


VERSUS

ANDRE JOHNSON'S RIPPING OFF THE HELMET AND PUNCHING AN OPPOSING PLAYER FACE EQUALS A $25,000 FINE


I guess I will it leave up to you the commentator what you view as the more malicious and deserving of a fine. The NFL is getting beyond ridiculous with their fines for players making clean tackles. Pittsburgh's James Harrison made a clean hit on Bill's QB Ryan Fitzpatrick just as he delivered the ball. Some will say he lead with his helmet but what the fuck is he suppose to do? Tackle with his black mamba? Texan's Andre Johnson deliberately ripped off Cortland Finnegan's helmet and punched the living shit out of him. I've heard Finnegan is a Grade A douchebag but how can you fine Harrison and Johnson the same amount when the intention was so different? Harrison I would argue is playing within the game. It's football and he was making a tackle. Unfortunately for him the NFL views any significant late hit on the QB as malicious even if it's a Buffalo QB. Johnson went berserk and should have been thrown out of the game.

Richard Seymour last week deliberately punched Ben Roethlisberger and yet he got fined only $25,000!


The NFL has their priorities all screwed up. This isn't hockey. If you punch someone deliberately you should be fined extensively and suspended. I'm talking a game's paycheck and not .5 of 1% of their yearly salary.

Or maybe the NFL knows that guys like Finnegan and Roethlisberger deserve a good punch every once in a while and will look the other way when it comes to supposedly "good guys" such as Andre Johnson and Richard Seymour deliver these punches. The NFL has set up their fine structure in terms of perception. Harrison's NFL perception is of a head hunter and even when he kisses the QB's vagina such as Fitzpatrick they are just waiting to fine him.

R.I.P LESLIE NIELSEN AKA FRANK DREBIN

This shit still makes me crackle like a little girl. Hilarious. Frank Drebin will be missed. Somewhere in Heaven he is calling strikes.

SOME BCS BOWL PERSPECTIVE FOR OHIO STATE VIA THE BIG LEAD

Little Sisters of the Poor: Ohio State plays very fine schools on any given Saturday. Marshall, Ohio, Eastern Michigan. Fine schools, all of them. According to Sagarin, the Buckeyes currently have a lower schedule strength rating (64) than Boise State (62). Boise State has a 2-1 record against teams currently in the AP Top 25, with wins against Virginia Tech and Hawaii and a heart-breaking, overtime loss to Nevada. Ohio State played one team currently in the AP Top 25, Wisconsin, and got manhandled. Guess which team will be playing in a BCS bowl game? The current system rewards reputation rather than accomplishment, and it is structured to pad and to perpetuate the reputations of already powerful schools.

Thanks to The Big Lead for stating the obvious. There should be an outcry over Ohio State making a BCS Bowl game because simply they didn't beat anybody in the top 25. All year I've heard it from a certain Ohio State fan (my neighbor...haha) that the Boise States and TCUs of the world didn't deserve a spot in one of the BCS Championship games because of their schedule. It's bull shit to point out those teams. Now if you want to point out the Big East Champ or the ACC Champ then fine. Those conferences are weak and don't have one dominating top 10 team in them. But for some people to kick Boise State when they lose a game because their kicker pulls a Ray Finkel is just absurd. Boise State and TCU can hang with the big boys. It's just the big boys are too damn scared to schedule them.

Right now it looks like Wisconsin will play TCU in the Rose Bowl. A matchup of a great offense in Wisconsin (3 times they have run up the score over 70 because their coach is a total dickbag) against the best defense in the country in TCU. It should be a great game.

Don't worry about Ohio State or their dumbass president. They get a BCS Bowl game invitation despite not beating anybody significant all season and getting destroyed by Wisconsin. They got lucky they didn't have to face Michigan State this season. Michigan State should get the invite but the BCS is all about selling tickets and TV so they will pick the Buckeyes. Thank god the Big Ten is finally getting a championship game next season when Nebraska joins the conference. Only it's about 15 years too late for their conference since the SEC has completely blown by them in significance and prestige.

Oh and great job Ohio State crushing Michigan. You could have at least kept it somewhat respectable. Not only did you rip out DickRod's heart once again but you pretty much put the final nail in his dismissal.

NOTRE DAME ENDS THE FUSC STREAK

It's been 9 years since I have woken up the next day after a Notre Dame-USC game and had a smile on my face. God yesterday felt great. My confidence going into the game was just like last year. I thought Notre Dame would win. But I'm so fucking superstitious when it comes to sports especially Notre Dame that I didn't even post a prediction for the game.

My game balls go to Robert Huuuuggghhhheeesss and the Notre Dame defense. Hughes ran like a locomotive Saturday night in a driving rain in Los Angeles. He could not be stopped. It was absolutely beautiful to see a running back take over a game and just will their way to the end zone. It's been a long time since we saw somebody in blue and gold do it. Big props go to the senior in Hughes for getting the monkey off Notre Dame's back. The defense again was absolutely dominating. I'm not sure what in the hell Brian Smith has been eating lately but whatever it is he needs to keep on doing it. The senior middle linebacker has led a resurgence on the Irish D the past 3 games. They have only given up one touchdown and even that was on the offense because they turned the ball over on their own 2 yard line. The defense held USC to under 250 yards and their running game only managed 3.5 yards per carry. Outstanding performance.

Also a big thank you goes to Brian Kelly and the staff. They have dealt with a lot of shit from media and the fans and alumni this year. Most of it was bull shit. To see Kelly smile and defensive coordinator Bob Diaco go ape shit after the game made this Notre Dame fan believe the Irish are definitely going in the right direction. Up.

Now it's on to a bowl game at 7-5. With a possibility of 18 of 22 starters back next season I'm already getting giddy about 2011. With momentum comes recruiting too and I believe they will finish with a top 10 class this season. It should set them up nicely for the future.

Go Irish!

DEREK JETER WANTS $150 MILLION FOR 6 YEARS

$25 million a season for six years for a 37 year old shortstop. Clearly Derek Jeter is all about the pride of playing for the pinstripes and not the zeros in his check. I don't even like the Yankees but I've always had a little bit of respect for Jeter. If I was the owner or GM of the Yankees and his agent came at me with this contract demand I would politely respond with this:

TODAY'S COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICKS

Yesterday if you went with my three NFL picks and my one bonus college game you had perfect 4-0 Thanksgiving Day. You should be rolling in the money. Oh and you are welcome by the way. Nothing but winners here folks so go ahead and roll those winners into today's games.

THE IRON BOWL: AUBURN (+4) AT ALABAMA
Maybe Vegas knows something but I don't understand why Auburn is an underdog. I know it's a hated rivalry game but Auburn is clearly the better team this season. I don't believe we are going to see a letdown game from Cam Newton and company. There is too much riding on this game and from what I have actually seen don't expect Cam to have an off game. Bama is good but too many people think they are still the team from last year. They are not you fuckheads.

Prediction: Auburn 31 Alabama 28

COLORADO (+16.5) AT NEBRASKA
Listen I know Colorado is terrible and they are playing without a head coach and they are going into a very difficult place to play in Lincoln. But I just have this feeling the Buffs will play their best game of the year. Nebraska is in a little bit of turmoil too with Bo Pelini going ape shit on his star quarterback Taylor Martinez last week. Listen up Pelini, without T-Magic you are a very average team. In fact I would say you are just a step over Texas without Martinez. I still think the Cornhuskers win but I don't see them blowing out Colorado.

Prediction: Nebraska 38 Colorado 34

ARIZONA AT OREGON (-19.5)
Holy shit this a huge spread between two good Pac-10 programs. Oregon got a scare a couple of weeks ago vs. Cal and barely survived. They got an off week to prepare for Mike Stoops and the Wildcats. It should help tremendously. Oregon is playing for a spot in the BCS Title game. They are going to run up the score.

Prediction: Scoregon 49 Arizona 20

BOISE STATE (-14.5) AT NEVADA
I don't think this game will be close. The Broncos are too powerful for the Wolfpack and Kellen Moore is going to tear up their defense.

Prediction: Boise State 56 Nevada 13

BONUS NBA PICK: Lakers (-2) over Utah

THANKSGIVING DAY PICKS

Happy Turkey Day everyone! Today is the day we can celebrate being with family and friends* and it's perfectly normal to be completely shit face by 5 pm on a Thursday. God I love the Holidays.

Anyways if you are like me you probably need some extra cash to pay for the delicious Winter 12 pack you just bought when really you should be spending it on the gas bill so you can start taking hot showers again. So here are my NFL Picks for today. Get it while it's hot people.

New England (-7.5) at Detroit
It's a crime the NFL insists on putting Detroit on Turkey Day despite them actually never being good but whatever, it's all those people got. If this game was in New England the Pats would be 13 point favorites easy. Even in Detroit I think Tom Brady goes nuts and throws minimum 4 touchdown passes.

Prediction: Patriots 35 Detroit 21

New Orleans at Dallas (+5)
The Cowboys look like a completely different team with Jason Garrett as the head coach. In other words they don't look like a blind retarded monkey trying to fuck a wet football anymore. These two teams I genuinely don't like because they are the two biggest bandwagon teams in the NFL. Nobody gave a shit about the Saints till last year. Hurricane Katrina...blah blah...Drew Brees...blah blah...the city deserves a championship...blah blah. Fuck em. Fuck em all I say. I'm taking Dallas with the upset.

Prediction: Cowboys 21 Saints 20

Cincinnati at New York Jets (-9.5)
The Bengals are playing god awful football right now. The Jets are one of the 5 best teams in the NFL. It's in New Jersey at night with a bunch of drunk fat Yorkers screaming obscenities at Ocho Cinco. Blowout City.

Prediction: Jets 28 Bungholes 12

Bonus College Football Pick: Texas A&M (-3.5) at Texas
I never thought I would be taking the Aggies on the road in Austin but Texas is fucking terrible this season. I still have no clue how you go from BCS Championship game to being the laughingstock of college football. Texas might have the beer and steers but they play like a bunch of _________.

Prediction: Aggies 35 Texas 20

*=alone with Scotch

Hate Week Pics

Photo C0urtesy of GregPanzer.com

This year's rivalry week seems to be as steamy as ever. Florida vs Florida State may be relevant again, South Carolina vs Clemson is favoring the Cocks, Georgia vs Georgia Tech may be the bowl of the biggest disappointment, and Auburn vs Alabama has huge implications just to talk about a few. This week, I'm going to do less talking and more picking.

Georgia vs Georgia Tech
The annual matchup of the frat boys vs the nerds is favoring the Dawgs by 17.5 last time I checked. Without the Josh "the Heisman" Nesbitt, the Jackets are in trouble. Murray has a week to rest and the Dawgs have to get bowl eligible. Richt is 8 - 1 vs Tech. Look for UGA to continue to run the state of Georgia.

Dawgs 42 vs Tech 20

Iron Bowl
Auburn is looking to go undefeated for the second time in the 2000s and if they are to win this, they won't be overlooked for the National Championship. For all the hype Bama had before the season, Auburn has been the team in Alabama to look like true champions. Look for Cam Newton to continue to play like a man among boys and Auburn to win the Iron Bowl.

Auburn 24 vs Alabama 21

Arizona vs Oregon
I don't think anyone can keep up with "ScOregon". The Quack Attack is fast and very talented. It's going to take a hell of a defensive stand to stop the Ducks and I don't think Arizona has what it takes.

Oregon 45 vs Arizona 17

Boise State vs Nevada
Boise continues it's run and ends this season undefeated yet again. Broncos get a BCS bowl and the Dawgs in the Dome to open next year. Nevada won't be able to keep up with Moore and the Broncos.

Broncos 42 vs Nevada 28

LSU vs Arkansas
LSU is on their way to a one loss season and a BCS bowl game and Petrino's Hogs will not stop the Mad Hatter's crazy luck. The SEC will have two teams in the BCS again this year and both will win no matter who they play. Geaux Tigers!

Tigers 23 vs Hogs 17

Michigan vs Ohio State
Ohio State will put an end to RichRod's tenure in Ann Arbor, thankfully. Let's go Buckeyes!

Michigan 10 vs Ohio State 24

Oklahoma vs Oklahoma State
Landry Jones has been all OU could ask for and Justin Blackmon has given Cowboy's fans a bit of a relief after losing Dez Bryant. This should be a good game, but I think the Sooners have what it takes to pull of the upset.

Sooners 21 vs Cowboys 17

Florida vs Florida State
The Gaytors found something in Trey Burton and it may have saved Steve Adazzio's job. While I don't think Florida is that good this year, I can't see them losing to Florida State. Sorry Noles, I hate picking Gaytors in anything.

Gaytors 31 vs Noles 17

South Carolina vs Clemson
South Carolina finally has the talent to not only compete with, but beat up on in-state rival Clemson. Marcus Lattimore and Alshon Jeffery are too good to be contained. South Carolina sweeps the SEC/ACC challenge with a decisive win.

Cocks 24 vs Tigers 10

COLLEGE FOOTBALL AWARD FINALISTS

With less than 3 games left in the regular season the major college football award selections have officially narrowed down their lists to a final 3. I've watched a ridiculous amount of college gridiron action again this season and if I had a vote these would be my selections. I obviously don't have a vote which is a crime in itself.

Chuck Bednarik Award (best defensive player)
Da’Quan Bowers, Jr., Clemson-Bowers gets my vote. He has twice the amount of sacks and TFL as Fairley but with a lot less fanfare. He will be a top 5 NFL pick.

Nick Fairley, Jr., Auburn-The JUCO transfer has literally been the one bright spot on the Tiger's defense and he has dominated every game I've personally watched. He probably will win the award because Auburn is undefeated but I will still take Bowers over him.

Patrick Peterson, Jr., LSU-Peterson is another incredible talent but I would have to pick Fairley over him as SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

Fred Biletnikoff Award (best receiver)
Justin Blackmon, So., Oklahoma State-Blackmon in a landslide vote. The guy has been incredible and has made Cowboy fans forget about Dez Bryant real quick.

Ryan Broyles, Jr., Oklahoma-I'm not a huge fan of Broyles and I personally think he is more a product of the system but whatever, his stats look great on paper.

Alshon Jeffery, So., South Carolina-Jeffery made some huge clutch catches for the Cocks and benefitted from the AJ Green suspension to earn SEC WR of the year.

Lou Groza Award (best kicker)
Dan Bailey, Sr., Oklahoma State-22-for-25 this season but not perfect.

Danny Hrapmann, Jr., Univ. of Southern Miss.-23-for-25 this season but then again not perfect.

David Ruffer, Sr., Notre Dame-They have to give the award to Ruffer, or Rufner as Tom Hammond always calls him. The walk-on never even played organize football till he tried out for Notre Dame through the intramural program. He is a PERFECT 15-for-15 this season and literally every one of his kicks have been right down the middle. It will be a crime if he doesn't win.

Ray Guy Award (best punter)
Drew Butler, Jr., Georgia-Butler has been a little inconsistent with his punting.

Ryan Donahue, Sr., Iowa-No fucking clue honestly.

Chas Henry, Sr., Florida-With Addazio calling the plays Henry has gotten a ton of work. In fact he deserves to win it and should personally thank Addazio for the piss poor Gators offense.

Maxwell Award (best all-around player)
First off let me say that this is a crying shame that Denard Robinson is not on this list. I hate Michigan but if you have watched college football this year there should be little doubt Robinson is one of if not the best all-around player in the game. He has literally carried Michigan all season and probably saved DickRod's job in Ann Arbor. If they had any defense he would be the Heisman frontrunner. Oh yeah and he is the only guy in college football history to rush for 1500 yards and throw for over 1500 yards in a season. He also is the all-time leading rusher for a QB in one season. Shoelace deserves to be on this list.

Andrew Luck, Jr., Stanford-Luck is the best pure quarterback in the nation. Unfortunately for him Newton is having a better overall season in a tougher defensive conference.

Kellen Moore, Jr., Boise State-Moore is a great player but Shoelace should have been a finalist instead of him.

Cam Newton, Jr., Auburn-Newton has carried Auburn all season. He is their team. Without him Auburn has 4 losses minimum. He deserves the award.

Davey O’Brien Award (best quarterback)
Andrew Luck, So., Stanford-If Luck gets Stanford to the Rose Bowl with an 11-1 record with the only loss being to #1 Oregon then I think he is the best quarterback in the nation and deserves this award. I know it's confusing but if I had to pick one guy who I would want behind center with less than two minutes to go and could drive us down the field for the winning score it would be Luck. Luck is a franchise QB and he has running/scrambling ability.

Kellen Moore, Jr., Boise State-Good for him for being a finalist but I would rather have Newton, Luck and Robinson right now.

Cam Newton, Jr., Auburn-Luck is a better passer in my opinion. Nothing against Newton because the Heisman is basically his but I think Luck is the better QB.

Outland Trophy (best interior lineman)
I can't honestly pick a winner here because I've seen very little of these guys play. So I will just leave it up to you the reader to pick.

Gabe Carimi, Sr., Wisconsin
Rodney Hudson, Sr., Florida State
Nate Solder, Sr., Colorado

Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back)
Prince Amukamara, Sr., Nebraska-I know I'm going to get some flack from Husker Nation but Prince is kinda overrated. Or maybe he just didn't have a great season. He got burnt a lot.

Tejay Johnson, Sr., TCU-Looked good but it's pretty obvious who wins this award.

Patrick Peterson, Jr., LSU-Without a doubt the winner. Peterson will be the first CB taken in the NFL draft.

Doak Walker Award (best running back)
This has been a rather shitty year for running backs. In fact I would rather take Cam or Shoelace as a running back then any of these three finalists. All of these guys have holes in their games. So in conclusion I don't like any of these guys for the Doak Walker but if I had to pick one I would say....Shoelace.

John Clay, Jr., Wisconsin
Kendall Hunter, Sr., Oklahoma State
LaMichael James, So., Oregon

HEISMAN TOP 5
1. Cam Newton
2. Denard "Shoelace" Robinson
3. Andrew Luck
4. Patrick Peterson
5. Justin Blackmon

UGA vs Boise State in 2011 Season Opener

Photo courtesy of Scout.com and Dean Legge

Bill King's brother summed up next year's, now official, Chick fil a opening kickoff game that matches Georgia vs. Boise State in the Dome. “It will be the first win in an undefeated season,” he responded. “I’ll let you know later as to which team I’m talking about.” - Tim King

I'm not sure that canceling a home and home with Louisville was the best idea. Yes, this gives UGA a more nationally known, and much stronger, opponent than Louisville, but with UGA's last two season, is that really best for the Dawgs? Last year's opening loss to Oklahoma State set the table for an 8 - 5 season. I'm not saying the Dawgs can't handle Boise State, but the looming question is what if they can't?

I've still got my fingers crossed that UGA has a few secret commitments that Coach Richt hasn't let anyone know about. Typically, UGA does have a trick or two up their sleeve, and this year (cough cough Isaiah Crowell cough cough) should be no different in bringing a true play maker to Athens (cough cough Isaiah Crowell cough cough). Maybe the Boise game in the Dome will help with recruiting. Ray Drew, Isaiah Crowell, Malcom Mitchell, Jay Rome, just to name a few, are still on the board and are very high on UGA's wish list.

On top of a great recruiting class, next year's D should be somewhat improved with the addition of Jarvis Jones and Richard Samuel moving to his natural position as a linebacker. Also, year two under Todd Grantham and year two with Aaron Murray should be hugely helpful. Let's all pray Mr. AJ Green himself makes a reappearance in the Red and Black next year to go with Justin Houston staying an extra year to get a full grasp of the 3-4 before heading off to a long and prosperous NFL career himself.

Personally, I'm excited for the Dawgs to get a big game on a big stage. Like Bill King said, "the Broncos haven’t yet beaten an SEC team and will lose some of the talent from their current team, but this isn’t the same Boise State program that D.J. and company throttled 48-13 in Athens back in 2005." But, I think McGarity made a great move. I think he is right for the program and can't wait for the future in Athens.

Check out Bill King's blog at http://blogs.ajc.com/junkyard-blawg/ and GOOOOOO DAWGS!!!