Curtis Martin-El Debarge: Separated at Birth?

I watch alot of college football. So much so that I knew the name of Boise State's QB BEFORE the Liberty Bowl and yes, I do still have a girlfriend...for now at least.

Being that I graduated from an SEC school, I have been one of Auburn's biggest supporters this year since I believe that on an almost yearly basis the SEC is the best football conference in the country...its similar to Vivid Videos in the porn industry, there are exceptions some years but for the most part, the SEC is superior in overall talent in relation to all their other competition. With that being said, Auburn doesn't deserve a piece of the national title. Auburn needed to win more impressively than that against a good (not great) Va. Tech team if they wanted to convince the nation that they were on par with USC and Oklahoma. I am fully aware that Va. Tech gave USC all they wanted early on and that Oklahoma struggled against Texas A&M and Ok. State (two teams who got pasted in their bowl games) but I just can't rationalize giving a share of the national title to a team that really struggled offensively after their first two drives of the game. If Auburn could've scored touchdowns on each of those drives they could've really blown the game open and then they may have a case in this national championship argument but then again, if Rick Pitino could've drafted Tim Duncan we'd all be calling him a coaching genius right now as well.

As for tonight's game, I think that Oklahoma will win due in large part to the injury to LenDale White. Its interesting that even though Reggie Bush was a Heisman finalist, he isn't even the regular starting tailback on his own team and that fact is where I think the difference lies in these two teams. Oklahoma will give the ball to Adrian Peterson 25-30 times tonight and USC would've spread those carries out between Bush and White but now the Trojans have to try and rely on Bush as their every down back...I don't see Bush being able to consistently get the tough yards tonight and because of this I think that Oklahoma wins a tight one. Either way it goes, I would really just like to see a GREAT and extremely competitive bowl game. With all of the talent that's on the field tonight, we have a chance to watch a truly amazing football game. There will be as much speed and athleticism as you'll ever see this side of the NFL...though the National Championship games that are played in the Orange Bowl always seem to be excruciatingly boring. Oh well, I always have sweet booze to liven up the festivities.

Hall of Fame voting results are released today and I, for one, am rooting for Ryne Sandberg. He seems to have slipped through the cracks among his generation of great players for a guy who was always among the top stars in the game during his heyday. I would've guessed that he would be inducted much earlier if you had asked me when he first retired. The man was the premier second baseman of his era, hands down. Oh yeah, and he did win an MVP...for the Cubs no less. Some may want to say that he was just a power hitting second baseman along the lines of Jeff Kent but that couldn't be more wrong. Sandberg actually won a few gold gloves, unlike Kent who acts like he'd rather be changing Don Zimmer's diapers than diving for a ground ball up the middle...though that difference is certainly evened out by Jeff Kent's mustache and the fact that Kent tried to kick teammate Barry Bonds' ass DURING a game. Come to think of it, those two things get Kent immediate induction into MY Hall of Fame. I can hear the champagne cork popping from here! Best of Luck to Ryne.

I read that Curtis Martin became the oldest rushing champ in the NFL since Marion Motley, who won his title in 1950. Now, I have never been a Curtis Martin fan (I really have no feeling on him either way) but to rush for over 1,600 yards at age 31 with all of the miles that he has on him is as impressive a feat as you will see in the NFL for a long, long time, and that includes Manning's touchdown record. One last thing about Martin, he gets my NFL Hall of Fame vote based solely on his headshot from Madden 2002 where he looked like El Debarge's long lost twin...the first time I saw that pic I nearly shat myself I was laughing so hard. If you don't know who El Debarge is, google the name and then take a look at your old copy of Madden 2002. Whats that? What exactly do you mean by "waste of time"?

Speaking of the rusing title, did you hear Shaun Alexander crying about being "stabbed in the back" by Mike Holmgren for not giving him the ball on the one yard line against the Falcons? I haven't seen somebody act this selfish since my buddy Federico wouldn't let us borrow his car to get breakfast a Cafe' Risque because his car "needed an oil change". Shameful. I know that Alexander has since apologized but a comment like that shows a sublime "me-first" attitude that definitely helps explain the Seahawks underachieving play this year. Apparently Shaun forgot how he cost his team a victory when he fumbled the ball into the endzone against the Jets...well, Mike Holmgren didn't. Winning is what matters in the NFL and unlike Alexander, Holmgren was obviously focused on getting his team into the playoffs. If Shaun is so damn interested in rushing titles then he ought to have a great time next year when he's going 4-12 for Denny Green in Arizona.

Antone Smith of Pahokee was named Mr. Football in the state of Florida recently after he led his team to a state title while setting the state scoring record for most rushing touchdowns in a season with 44. Smith broke the record, which had stood for 5 years, of current NFL player and former first round draft pick...Sean Taylor. Yes, Sean Taylor the Washington Redskins' safety. Gives you an idea of what kind of athlete Taylor is and the type of athletes that play at the University of Miami.

I, more than anyone, am sick and tired of the ass licking routine that the media gives Bill Belichick. Yeah, we all watch the Super Bowl. We realize that he's won two of them. We know he's great already. Yet, his insistence that all of his healthy players suit up and play on Sunday was exactly what makes him great. He demands maximum effort from his team every time out, no matter who you are. I have no problem with sitting guys to get them healthly, and it is completely and totally a coaches perogative, but I have always been weary of teams who put it in cruise control for the final game or two of the season. Whenever you do something like the Falcons did this year, you run the risk of not being able to turn it back on when the playoffs get started. You're only going to get so many chances to win a Super Bowl...why mess around with your team's level of intensity? Hey! I should know...I just won my 5th consecutive national title on NCAA Football 2005.

Count me among the few people who isn't sold on Matt Leinart as a franchise NFL QB. Everybody is calling him a lefthanded Chad Pennington but I think that is mostly because they both lack ideal NFL arm strength. When you factor in the great athletes that Leinart has had around him and the notoriously soft Pac-10 defenses that he sees each week, I think that you have the potential for him to be a bust...not a Ryan Leaf or Rick Mirer kind of bust mind you, but a bust nonetheless. I would draft Aaron Rodgers ahead of him based on his superior arm strength, mobility and the tutelage that he has gotten from Jeff Tedford. Of course, I'm also on the record as saying Jake Plummer just "needed a change of scenery". Yeah, I'm an idiot.

I'll be back tommorrow to discuss the deplorable state of the University of Florida's basketball team among other things. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to mold a new plastic neck for Frank Beamer.