Super Bowl and a look ahead to March Madness

The Colts and Saints will square off in 9 days to determine who will become the 44th Super Bowl Champion. Each year, intriguing sub-plots are discussed constantly and beat to death leading up to the game. This year, there are two simple plot-lines in my mind:

Colts: This win would validate Peyton Manning as the best quarterback to ever grace a football field. I don't care what anyone says about Johnny U, Montana, Brady, or Favre, Manning is on a completely different planet than those guys. Think back to last summer - the Colts were dealing with a handful of questions, the biggest being how they would adjust to a new coach. Those days seem like lightyears ago, as Manning has groomed Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie into household names (does anyone remember Marvin Harrison or Anthony Gonzales??). Not only would a win give the Colts their third championship, it would validate Manning as the hands-down unquestioned greatest quarterback of all-time.

Saints: New Orleans is the sentimental favorite. No city in America has struggled through more hardship in the past five years than the Big Easy, and a Super Bowl victory would be a symbol of the city's return to prominence. A victory would also remove the "Dan Marino-esque" cloud from above Drew Brees, and remove his name from the "best quarterbacks to never win a Super Bowl" list.

Key to victory: Saints defense. A unit that thrives on takeaways will have to confuse Peyton Manning into making bad decisions. Good luck with that. But hey, stranger things have happened in the Super Bowl...

- The college basketball season is in full swing and three teams are vying for the #1 ranking in the nation - Kansas, Villanova, and Syracuse. Let me say that being a native of Syracuse, I am completely biased in favor of the Orange. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me tell you who I think has the best shot at making a deep run to the title in late March...

Kansas has two studs in Sharron Collins and Cole Aldrich. They will go as far as those two can take them, which I'm betting is at least the Elite Eight.

Villanova has an unquestioned leader in Scottie Reynolds. The Wildcats will go as far as he can carry them, which I'm betting is not past the second round of the tournament.

Syracuse has a go-to man in Wesley Johnson and a bigtime shot-maker in Andy Rautins. If their bigs can learn to make a couple free throws here and there, the Orange will make the Final Four.

- The first few times I heard the song "Shut it Down," I found it to be very cheesy and somewhat lame. However, it has grown on me, and this video only furthered that growth...

Bowl statements, and Leach reaction

The collegiate bowl season is nearly complete, and there have been a few performances that have stood out in my mind as major statements. Here are my top three:

1. Tim Tebow

- Tebow shined in his final collegiate game, torching the Big East Champion Cinncinati Bearcats for nearly 500 yards passing and had as many incompletions as he did touchdowns (4 total TD’s, 4 total incompletions). Tony Dungy said it best – “Winners win” – Tim Tebow is definitely a winner, and will undoubtedly make a splash next season in the NFL.

2. Bobby Bowden

- Bowden’s Seminoles were victorious over the legendary coach’s former team West Virginia in the Gator Bowl, and there was no cooler moment than when Bowden drove Chief Osceola’s flaming spear (or whatever that thing is called) into the turf prior to the coin toss. It was a fitting cap to a stellar career.

3. Ohio State, Terrelle Pryor, and Jim Tressell

- The Rose Bowl victory was a momentus one for Ohio State. The Buckeyes struggles in BCS games over the past number of years has been well documented, and both quarterback and coach helped changed that – Tressel expanded his playbook, and Prior made plays. Look out for the Buckeyes next fall.

- There has been no swifter fall from grace (with the exception of George O’Leary and his tenure at Notre Dame) than that of Mike Leach. The now former Texas Tech head coach is the centerpiece of what will surely be a long, drawn out legal battle over money. What exactly happened to wide receiver Adam James and how he apparently ended up in an electrical closet is in dispute, and Red Raider nation has split in half – those who support Leach, and those who support the administration/Adam James.

Because of the contradictory reports and enormous support for both sides, it is tough for me to take a stance on this issue/ongoing saga. I will say this – Mike Leach, although quirky, uniquely humorous, and downright strange, won football games and graduated players.

Here is Leach’s interview with ESPN. I admire the fact that he thinks he is a right, and is not going to back down or change his stance for anyone. And check out this link regarding an interesting spot where Leach could coach next…

College Football Bowl Breakdown

Let me start off by saying that I am extremely disgusted with the entire college football postseason setup. To begin with, 64 teams will participate in 32 bowl games. That means if you are a Division 1-A football team, you have better than a 50% chance of making it to a bowl game. No longer is it a true honor to participate in a bowl game, and you will never convince me that Marshall and Ohio are giddy over participating in the Little Caesars Bowl.

That being said, here is what I propose should happen to the layout of bowl games: Lets just do away with about 20 of the less popular bowls (i.e. the Eaglebank Bowl, Texas Bowl, ect) and replace them with 10 bowls in honor of someone or something. For example...

1. Billy Mays Bowl presented by OxyClean (or Mighty Putty, or Orange Glo, or the

Gopher...)

- I'm sure Billy Mays had at least some interest in college football, and what better way to remember him than by playing a game in his honor. 25% of all ticket sales could go to charity, and the winner would get a giant bronze trophy displaying Billy Mays and his glorious facial hair.

2. VH1 Bowl

- If this cable TV station has enough money to fund multiple seasons of "For the love of Ray J" and "Rock of Love," they can certainly put up the cash to sponsor a bowl game. Think about the amount of young, brainless adolescents that would tune in to see Bret Michaels and Flavor Flav perform at halftime...

3. Donald Bowl

- Donald Trump once tried his hand at football by throwing his money into the USFL, and we all know how that ended. Here is his chance at redemption: establish a bowl game that will be played at the new Meadowlands stadium and invite all of your celebrity friends. Then get Carrie Underwood, Jay-Z, Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, Jessica Simpson, and Kanye West to perform at halftime. Try and convince me that people wouldn't watch that.

- Alright, on a more serious note...here are some non-BCS bowls that I may take the time to watch...

Emerald Bowl - USC vs. Boston College

- Simply put, Pete Carroll is a terrible coach in "non" big games. This is not a big game by USC's standards, which is why B.C. wins easily.

Meineke Car Care Bowl - UNC vs. Pitt

- Pitt wins because of Dion Lewis, who I'm convinced is the second coming of Adrian Peterson.

Sun Bowl - Oklahoma vs. Stanford

- Both teams wanted more this season, so it will be interesting to see which team (if either) shows up to play.

Capital One Bowl - Penn State vs. LSU

- This is a statement game for the Big Ten. If the Nittany Lions can defeat an SEC team in a bowl game, people will take notice, and give the Big Ten some credit it has been lacking in recent years (but if you ask me, LSU wins).

Chick-fil-A Bowl - Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee

- Should be a very interesting matchup, but the Hokies will prevail behind the dynamic play of Tyrod Taylor.

Outback Bowl - Northwestern vs. Auburn

- Another statement game for the Big Ten. If Northwestern's uptempo, pass-happy offense can keep Auburn off balance, then the Wildcats have a shot.

Gator Bowl - West Virginia vs. Florida State

- Bobby Bowden's last game will be a win for Florida State. The Seminoles will play inspired football, and erase some of the disappointment from this season.

I'll be back soon with my take on the BCS bowl games, and who I think will take home the National Championship...