College Sports Fans

Texas and USC Rose Bowl

2005-12-15T13:57:00.000-08:00

The University of Texas and the University of Southern California will meet in this year's Rose Bowl, one of the most anticipated national championship games of recent memory. USC finished this year's season ranked first in the BCS Ranking System closely followed by UT by a margin of .0136 points. To top it off, USC and UT have competed with each other over the top individual awards for college football athletes. Reggie Bush trounced UT quarterback Vince Young for Heismann votes as well as USC teammate Matt Leinart. Vince Young beat Matt Leinart for First Team All-American and the Texans had four first team All-American players while the trojans only had three. Both teams had seven All-American players overall. What all of this amounts to is a Rose Bowl you don't want to miss on January 4.

NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings

2005-12-02T08:57:00.000-08:00

NCAA College Basketball Rankings as of 12/2/2005

RANK
TEAM
RECORD
PTS
PVS

1.

Duke
(27)
5-0
769
1

Last Week: Def. Drexel 78-68
(11/23), Def. No. 11 Memphis 70-67
(11/25)

This Week: Def. No. 16 Indiana 75-67
(11/30), 12/4 vs.
Virginia
Tech (5-2)  Tickets

2.

Texas
(3)
5-0
737
2

Last Week: Def. No. 13 West Virginia 76-75
(11/21), Def. No. 17 Iowa 68-59
(11/22), Def. Louisiana Monroe 90-55
(11/26)

This Week: Def. Tx Pan American 82-54
(11/29), 12/3 vs.
Texas
Arlington (4-3)  Tickets

3.

Connecticut
(1)
4-0
721
3

Last Week: Def. Arkansas 77-68
(11/21), Def. No. 8 Arizona 79-70
(11/22), Def. No. 9 Gonzaga 65-63
(11/23)

This Week: Def. Army 68-54
(11/29), 12/2 vs.
Texas
Southern (1-4)  Tickets

4.

Villanova

2-0
655
4

Last Week: Def. Lehigh 84-47
(11/27)

This Week: Def. Rider 86-57
(11/30), 12/3 vs. No. 5 Oklahoma (4-0)  Tickets

5.

Oklahoma

3-0
639
5

Last Week: Def. Binghamton 88-60
(11/23), Def. Belmont 81-59
(11/26)

This Week: Def. Tulsa 62-53
(11/30), 12/3 at No. 4 Villanova (3-0)  Tickets

6.

Louisville

1-0
594
6

Last Week: No Games Played

This Week: 12/3 vs.
Prairie
View (1-2), 12/4 vs.
Arkansas
State (1-3)  Tickets

7.

Gonzaga

3-1
572
9

Last Week: Def. No. 20 Maryland 88-76
(11/21), Def. No. 12 Michigan State 109-106
(11/22), Lost to No. 3 Connecticut 65-63
(11/23)

This Week: Def. Portland State 89-80
(11/30), 12/4 at No. 19 Washington (6-0)  Tickets

8.

Boston
College
5-0
557
10

Last Week: Def. Buffalo 92-63
(11/22), Def. Drake 87-84
(11/25), Def. Oklahoma State 76-68
(11/26)

This Week: 12/3 vs.
Sacred
Heart (2-4)  Tickets

9.

Memphis

3-1
495
11

Last Week: Def. No. 16 UCLA 88-80
(11/23), Lost to No. 1 Duke 70-67
(11/25)

This Week: Def. Lamar 108-83
(11/28), Def. Jackson State 97-70
(11/30), 12/3 at
Cincinnati (3-1)  Tickets

10.

Kentucky

4-1
478
7

Last Week: Lost to No. 17 Iowa 67-63
(11/21), Def. No. 13 West Virginia 80-66
(11/22), Def. Liberty 81-51
(11/25)

This Week: Def. High Point 75-55
(11/29), 12/3 vs.
North
Carolina (3-1)  Tickets

11.

Florida

5-0
420
15

Last Week: Def. Florida State 74-66
(11/25)

This Week: Def. Alabama State 87-60
(11/28), 12/3 vs.
Central
Florida (4-0)  Tickets

12.

Illinois

5-0
380
14

Last Week: Def. Texas Southern 93-59
(11/22), Def. Wichita State 55-54
(11/25), Def. Rutgers 77-57
(11/26)

This Week: Def. North Carolina 68-64
(11/29), 12/3 vs.
Xavier (3-0)  Tickets

13.

Arizona

2-2
346
8

Last Week: Def. Kansas 61-49
(11/21), Lost to No. 3 Connecticut 79-70
(11/22), Lost to No. 12 Michigan State 74-71
(11/23), Def. Virginia 81-51
(11/27)

This Week: 12/3 at
Houston (2-1)  Tickets

14.

Michigan
State
3-2
323
12

Last Week: Def. Chaminade 89-67
(11/21), Lost to No. 9 Gonzaga 109-106
(11/22), Def. No. 8 Arizona 74-71
(11/23), Def. IPFW 84-73
(11/27)

This Week: Def. Georgia Tech 88-86
(11/30), 12/3 vs.
Arkansas
LR (3-1)  Tickets

15.

Iowa

4-1
320
17

Last Week: Def. No. 7 Kentucky 67-63
(11/21), Lost to No. 2 Texas 68-59
(11/22), Def. Tex San Antonio 79-46
(11/26)

This Week: Def. No. 21 N.C. State 45-42
(11/30), 12/2 vs.
Fairfield (0-3)  Tickets

16.

Indiana

3-0
255
21

Last Week: Def. Florida A&M 100-63
(11/21), Def. Western Illinois 102-79
(11/26)

This Week: Lost to No. 1 Duke 75-67
(11/30), 12/3 vs.
Eastern
Michigan (1-2)  Tickets

17.

UCLA

4-1
214
16

Last Week: Lost to No. 11 Memphis 88-80
(11/23), Def. Drexel 57-56
(11/25)

This Week: Def. Albany 73-65
(11/29), 12/4 vs.
Coppin St (0-5)  Tickets

18.

Alabama

2-1
201
18

Last Week: No Games Played

This Week: Def. Louisiana Tech 73-63
(11/29), 12/3 vs.
Winthrop (4-0)  Tickets

19.

Washington

6-0
177
NR

Last Week: Def. Idaho 90-67
(11/22), Def. Loyola Marymnt 112-65
(11/25)

This Week: 12/4 vs. No. 7 Gonzaga (4-1)  Tickets

20.

Maryland

4-1
174
20

Last Week: Lost to No. 9 Gonzaga 88-76
(11/21), Def. Chaminade 98-69
(11/22), Def. Arkansas 75-62
(11/23), Def. Nicholls State 88-56
(11/27)

This Week: Def. Minnesota 83-66
(11/30)  Tickets

21.

N.C. State

5-0
159
NR

Last Week: Def. VMI 75-55
(11/23), Def. Notre Dame 61-48 (11/26)

This Week: Lost to No. 15 Iowa 45-42
(11/30)  Tickets

22.

George
Washington
2-0
134
22

Last Week: Def. Kennesaw 87-42
(11/23), Def. Norfolk State 80-69
(11/26)

This Week: Def. St. Francis (PA) 85-68
(11/30), 12/2 vs.
Boston U. (0-4)  Tickets

23.

Wake Forest

5-1
123
24

Last Week: Def. NC Asheville 79-63
(11/21), Def. Appalachian St. 91-78
(11/25)

This Week: Def. Wisconsin 91-88
(11/29), 12/3 at
Elon
University (1-4)  Tickets

24.

Syracuse

4-2
94
19

Last Week: Lost to Bucknell 74-69
(11/22), Def. Siena 96-77
(11/25)

This Week: Def. Manhattan 87-82
(11/30), 12/3 vs.
TCU (1-4)  Tickets

25.

LSU

3-0
79
NR

Last Week: Def. Nicholls State 104-57
(11/21), Def. No. 13 West Virginia 71-68
(11/26)

This Week: Lost to Houston 84-83
(11/29)  Tickets

Coach Fisher DeBerry

2005-11-04T13:45:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard, Coach Fisher DeBerry held a startling and even offensive press conference this past week. The most controversial part of the press conference is as follows:

"It's very obvious to me the other day that the other team had a lot more
Afro-American players than we did, and they ran a lot faster than we did. ..
. Afro-American kids can run very, very well. That doesn't mean that Caucasian
kids and other descents can't run, but it's very obvious to me that they run
extremely well."

Obviously, this type of comment receives a lot of media coverage and Coach DeBerry had to make a formal apology, but surprisingly there wasn't a huge outcry from the black community. In fact, Michael Wilbon, a black writer for the Washington Post, commented on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, "The politically correct police would go into hysteria to say this guy has anything to apologize for. Nothing to apologize for, as far as I'm concerned. . . . He didn't say anything out of place."

Coach DeBerry's comments did not reflect racist undertones but rather undertones of frustration. In order to fully understand his comments, one must first understand the context of his comments in terms of his legacy, this year's Air Force Season, college recruitment, and the game to which he was referring.

Coach DeBerry has been the head coach for the Air Force Falcons for the past 22 years and is one of the winningest coaches in the Academy's history. This season, however, the Air Force Falcons are 3-6.

The opponent to which the coach responded and made his comments about was Texas Christian University. TCU and the Air Force Academy have had a long line of tradition as far as football is concerned. TCU and the Air Force Academy ended their seasons in a tie game in the 1958 Cotton Bowl in the only undefeated season the Academy has ever produced. Ever since that infamous game, whenever the two teams meet each other they have an informal reunion to commemorate that long ago game.

Since that 1958 Cotton Bowl, things have changed for TCU as well as in the world of college athletic recruiting. While TCU may be able to recruit the best talent for its athletic squads, the Air Force Academy's priority is not to recruit the best athletes but rather the best service men and women. As such, most top athletes choose to attend universities that do not have a service requirement after graduation, do no have the rigorous academic requirements of the Air Force Academy, and have greater public exposure. It's possible that the coach's comments came not from racist intentions but rather from frustration and an embarassing loss to TCU (48-10).

Other proponents of Coach DeBerry's comments, including other NCAA coaches, suggests that there is some truth, at least statistically to DeBerry's comments. According to Jon Entine, the author of Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We Are Afraid to Talk About It, since 1999 when Kenyan runner Noah Ngeny broke Sebastian Coe's 1,000 meter record, all commonly-run track distance records belong to runners of African descent. What's more is that 95 percent of the top times in sprinting are held by runners who can trace their ancestry back to West Africa.

Even if Fisher DeBerry's comments were true they were inappropriate at a time when the process of comparing and ranking people whether it be intelligence, speed, or any other type of skill and then relating that skill to race was thought to be outdated. Coach DeBerry's comments were inappropriate, but were shortly followed by appropriate action both on the Coach's part and on the part of the Air Force Academy.

If you have ESPN 360 (the broadband service of ESPN) you can watch Michael Wilbon's comments on Pardon the Interruption relating to Fisher DeBerry's statements.

Also, the Air Force Falcons are playing Army this Saturday on ESPN Classic and TCU is playing Colorado State but will not be available for broadcast.

BCS Rankings Change Again

2005-11-03T13:56:00.000-08:00

You can find the latest rankings on the BCS website. The latest BCS Rankings came out Monday and found the USC trojans again at the head of the pack. However, according to the BCS computer rankings, USC is actually tied with Virginia Tech for Second Place! The BCS averages barely put USC above Texas, but place Virginia Tech far enough behind to probably ensure these two teams in the championship bowl game, as long as neither one is upset in the following weeks.

Boston College at Virginia Tech

2005-10-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

Virginia Tech will be playing Boston College this Thursday (October 27) on ESPN. This game should be pivotal in BCS standings. If Virginia Tech wins, USC or Texas could potentially be out of the championship game! Kickoff at 7:30 pm ET.

Texas Passes USC in BCS Standings

2005-10-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

In the most recent BCS Standings, Texas has just passed USC as the number 1 team in the nation. This controversial move has not helped the credibility and recent criticism of the BCS ranking system. College sports fans may recall the 2003 Championship series in which two champions were crowned, because of faults within the BCS system. LSU defeated Oklahoma and USC defeated Michigan. The problem was that the LSU and Oklahoma were ranked ahead of USC according to the BCS system, while USC was ranked in the top two according to the U.S.A. Today's Coach's Poll and the Harris Interactive Poll.

The modified BCS system that is used today places a heavier emphasis on poll rankings, but still has flaws. Computer scores are generated upon the difficulty of a team's schedule and the strength of its opponents.

A similar situation to the 2003 Series could happen again this year. If Virginia Tech, USC, and Texas remain undefeated, Virginia Tech could potentially replace USC in the championship series if its poll rankings go up and it remains undefeated against Boston College and Miami.

If USC is surpassed by Virginia Tech and left out of the bowl series as an undefeated, reigning champion, serious doubt might be cast on the BCS system. Some analysts have suggested using a playoff system, while others have suggested tweaking the BCS rank system again.

These articles provide a little more insight into both of these issues:
USC Falls Out of BCS Top Spot
Bowl Championship Series Rankings

Vince Lombardi Quote

2005-10-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite Vince Lombardi Quotes, applicable to sports or life-

A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.

College Baseball Rankings

2005-10-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

These rankings are available on the ESPNU website and the ranking is based on a surey of college coaches by ESPN/Sports Weekly. Without further ado...the rankings:

Rankings - Week 20 (May. 27 - Jun. 2)

TEAM RECORD POINTS PREV

1Tulane (36) 50-9 996 1

2Oregon State (2) 41-9 896 4

3Cal State Fullerton (1) 41-15 892 2

4Nebraska (1) 51-13 884 5

5Texas 45-14 883 3

6Georgia Tech 42-16 805 9

7Rice 41-17 659 11

8Florida 40-20 613 10

9Arizona 37-19 602 7

10Baylor 39-21 599 14

11Mississippi 44-18 574 15

12LSU 38-20 570 6

13Miami 38-17 522 8

14Florida State 50-18 446 13

15North Carolina 40-17 396 12

Tulane is expected to be another powerhouse this year despite logistics difficulties. For example, it is not known whether they will be able to play at home yet. Most of the other Tulane athletic fall teams have continued their seasons at other schools according to this article from MSNBC.

Updated: 4:20 p.m. ET Sept. 6, 2005
NEW ORLEANS - Tulane athletic teams displaced from their New Orleans campus by Hurricane Katrina will be based this fall at five different universities....

...Among the possibilities are playing on the Louisiana Tech campus or at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, La. Louisiana Tech and Tulane share three common home dates, all in October.

It seems probable that spring sports teams will most likely play at these same venues for their seasons.

College Sports 4U

2005-10-12T09:29:00.000-07:00

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