What we've learned this season

1. LSU was a fraud.
I started to realize this from the first time I saw Matt Flynn play. I thought, here is a quarterback surrounded by the best possible supporting cast, but he's not up to starring. Les Miles compensated for that by gambling and riding a 3 headed monster at running back. The defense got exposed by Florida and Kentucky and hasn't been dominant since. So Les gambled more and more, playing percentages with fourth down conversions. LSU should have lost to Florida and Auburn this season, but their success on fourth down was the difference.

2. Nebraska might be the biggest disappointment this year.
The Cornhuskers were supposed to be a top 25 team this year and a dark horse national championship contender. Instead, they won't make a bowl game, their coach is a lock to get fired and their defense gives up 65 points to Colorado. The blackshirts have become the black and blue shirts, filled with battered egos and bruises from getting run over (277 yards to Colorado this week).

3. Tim Tebow is the best sophomore quarterback ever.
That's not an overstatement. No one has had a season like him. 20 passing TDs, 20 rushing TDs. He now holds the SEC single season rushing touchdowns record. He should win the Heisman.

4. Texas has officially returned to its previously simply good, not great status.
Minus Vince Young, Texas isn't invincible. They're still pretty good, capable of beating most teams on any given Saturday, but it's now been 2 straight losses to Texas A&M and that's how you can tell that they just aren't the same without the game-saving, playmaking quarterback.

5. This BCS Championship game is going to have at least one team unaccustomed to playing in REALLY BIG games.
Kansas, Mizzou, West Virginia, Ohio State. Which of these does not belong? Ohio State is used to getting to the big game, but the other three haven't sniffed the BCS Championship game in previous years. Mizzou and Kansas have never even been mentioned in the same breath as National Championship since the inception of the BCS.

Who's getting the ax first?

Yes, it's time to start looking at the coaches on the hottest seat. Let's go down the list.

Good as Gone:
Scott Linehan - Finally won a game, but unless he can string together 6 or 7 more where that one came from, he won't see what has to be a vastly improved Rams team take the field next season.

Coaching his way out of the NFL:
Cam Cameron - Still hasn't won a game. Team hasn't shown any improvement. He isn't starting rookies, so there's a possibility that the team could actually be worse next year. Hard to go worse than 0-16, but Cam's not setting up the future too well.

There's a fire underneath that seat, yet you're not coaching like there's a fire under your ass:
Brad Childress - Wow, bad. Got shut out by Green Bay. The only things he was able to hang his hat on, running and run defense, didn't show up in that game. The run defense was exposed by Ryan Grant. You've probably never heard of him. The pass defense is atrocious as always. They can't pass the ball. Now Adrian Peterson is out and there's nothing left for the Vikings. Plus, Childress loves to throw people that could help the team (Daunte Culpepper, Jeff George, Troy Williamson) under a bus.

The Guru that Wasn't:
Brian Billick - the most secure of the bunch, but coaching his way out of a job. Got Willis McGahee in the offseason only to have the offense pass twice as much as it runs. The defense doesn't scare anyone anymore and it looks like their Super Bowl window closed last year against the Colts in the playoffs. Not getting better with the current staff and roster. Plus, his obvious successor is already on staff: Rex Ryan.

Three Year Circle:
Mike Nolan - Nice guy, sharp dresser, but we've been through this before, haven't we? Peaked with a 7-9 season and an offense that scored 298 points and a defense that gave up 412. Ouch. It's looking more like his first season where the 49ers went 4-12 and couldn't score or defend anyone. Worse yet, they gave their 1st round pick to the Pats in exchange for Left Turnstile Joe Staley. The upside is there's a lot more talent on this team due to a couple of good drafts. The foundation for a Chiefs-style Big 3 (QB, RB, TE) is there. Will the next coach be able to take advantage of it?

Mangenius to Mandummy in one year:
Eric Mangini - Brilliant against a soft schedule last year, lousy against a better schedule this year. Angered the Patriots this year and hasn't been able to do much on either side of the ball. Forced the 3-4 defense on a team that didn't have the right personnel for it. Got a good RB, but the offense seems to have regressed. They thought they were so close last year. This year, they'll be lucky to get close to the Bills and far from the Dolphins.

Family problems lead to coaching problems:
Andy Reid - He ain't going anywhere unless he decides he wants to. Consistently, one of the best regular season coaches, yet his family situation is so messed up right now that he might put himself on the hot seat.

From Super Bowl to consistent Super Bust:
John Fox - He just can't get it done. There's no other way to put it. Looked brilliant in the Super Bowl year, had a great playoff run with Steve Smith and spare parts and then has consistently underachieved. In fairness, Jake Delhomme peaked his first year as a starter, but they could sure use him now. The running game is wildly inconsistent. DeAngelo Williams hasn't become the star people thought he would. David Carr is a big bust in Carolina. Turns out he just has a penchant for taking sacks. Maybe Houston's line wasn't that bad after all. The defense with all those big names and contracts is non-existent. He's still a pretty decent coach, but he might be killed by all those lofty expectations.

Keep the Sonics in Seattle

I shouldn't even have to post this. Moving the Sonics is like moving the Suns or the Pacers or Spurs. It just should not be done. The Seattle Supersonics have provided many great memories for the city of Seattle. Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp (before he got fat), Ray Allen, their NBA Finals run in 95-96, their surprisingly playoff run in 04-05, the 79 championship team, Lenny Wilkens, Nate McMillan, Spencer Haywood, the X-man, Dennis Johnson, Vin Baker (before he got fat), Derrick McKey's one good season, Desmond Mason's high-flying dunks, Flip Murray's one stretch of good games back in 03 when he was going off on a nightly basis for like a week and then disappeared forever, Paul Silas, that time Jerome James played half-way decent defense against Tim Duncan, Rashard Lewis draining 3s in the corner, drafting Kevin Durant. Look, Seattle is a world-class city that loves its Sonics. Oklahoma City just doesn't have the basketball tradition that the great Northwest does. Not a knock on Oklahoma City, I'm sure it's a fine city, but the Supersonics are Seattle sports. They were the first professional franchise in the city, and they're still the only ones to win a championship. Please, David Stern, don't take this team away from this city. Don't make the league even more generic by having a team name and a city that don't match (see Utah Jazz). Or worse yet, don't rename the team and make them into a generic animal name. Don't relegate the Northwest into cheering exclusive for the Portland Trailblazers. Think of the rivalry that could grow between the Blazers and Sonics over the next 10 years with Durant and Oden in their primes. In Oklahoma City, the Sonics become just another team, akin to the Charlotte Bobcats or the New Orleans Hornets. Hey, the Hornets are a fine team with a great point guard, but I just can't get excited about them. There's not a lot of history there. Owners move teams if they're not making money or if the fan base evaporates. This is so not the case with the Sonics. The new owner just happens to be from Oklahoma City and wants to move the team just because of that fact:

We didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here.” McLendon indicated that finances might not be the prime consideration in a move, stating that the team would likely perform better financially in Seattle.

Don't let this happen, NBA!

Fire Coach Cam?? Why Bother

Lemon to remain Dolphins starter

AP says that Coach Cam is giving Lemon the start again. Coach Cam, you are 0-8. You are not going to be 8-8 this year. It's not going to happen unless you trade your entire team for the Patriots entire team. The future is now. Play Beck. He's 26 years old already. You cannot afford to stash him away. He has 10 years at most in the league as a starting QB. Better make use of that now. You know what you have in Lemon. Lemon is a OK quarterback that can manage a game as long as you power rush 40 times a game and have Lemon throw about 15-20 times. Basically, use him like a Quinn Gray in Jax. Since this does not happen in Miami, Lemon has yet to win a game for the Fins this year. To repeat, Lemon is not a playmaker. He does not make things happen and teammates are not rallying around him. You need to see Beck. You need to see him as much as possible between now and the end of the season. There's a very good chance that the Fins will be drafting #1 overall. If a franchise quarterback is in that draft sitting there, the Fins cannot afford to pass that up again. We also need to find out if passing on Quinn was a mistake this year (I maintain that it was, prove me wrong, Coach Cam).

I say "fire Coach Cam? why bother" because it's looking like 0-16 for the fins or at best 2-14, and either of those records will probably get Coach Cam fired and the whole team blown up. I don't know what Cam saw in this team that made him think they were close to the playoffs. Everyone else (and I mean everyone) saw an aging defense, a punchless offense and nothing special on either side of the ball outside of Jason Taylor. Everyone knew (including Jason Taylor) that Trent Green was one hit away from a likely retirement and of course, that happened. Even if it didn't, Trent Green was not going to be a QB to maximize marginal talent. He had Gonzo and Priest and later LJ all those years in KC. His WRs may have been marginal, but he had the benefit of playing behind one of the best offensive lines in the league.

Do the right thing, Coach Cam. Play Beck. I think he gives you a better chance of winning than Lemon does. The team might be able to rally around him. We know what Lemon can do (not much, unfortunately). Let's see Beck. Maybe he's a playmaker. Maybe not. We'll never know if he's glued to the bench. Play Beck and run the ball with Chatman and another rookie that's glued to the bench, Lorenzo Booker. Play him too. Run your backs 35 times a game at least. Your team has demonstrated a good ability to power rush. That has been the only offensive strength all year. Power rush and play action, and maybe Beck will give you the victory that will allow you to avoid the most embarrassing head coaching resume of all time, Coach Cam.

Quick Hits for ya now

Dodgers hire Joe Torre, team still stinks

Kobe's staying put...for now

Every sports team in Miami sucks right now

Also, the Miami Herald publishes a satirical article about A-Rod going to the Marlins
Um, Miami Herald, this cheapskate franchise didn't even keep their manager of the year. They're thinking about trading Miguel Cabrera because he might make too much money next year. What makes you think they'll go after A-Rod and his bloated salary demands.

Daunte Culpepper still sucks, in case you were wondering, but he would have been a better option than Trent Green or Cleo Lemon.

THE HUGEST FUCKING GAME OF ALL TIME

Colts-Pats, this Sunday. Let the hype continue. Gregg Easterbrook somewhat jokingly refers to it as the NFL's battle of good vs. evil. This is seriously the most anticipated sporting event for ESPN since the last most anticipated sporting event. This is the Super Duper Bowl. The Pats represent bad sportsmanship, have a jerk for a coach and a pretty boy douche for a quarterback. The Colts represent glorious freedom and capitalism. They have a nice guy best selling author for a coach, a quarterback that's on every football related commercial and a reputation for good sportsmanship. They're the reigning champs. Everything the Pats did this off-season was a response to Reche dropping that pass in the AFC Championship game.

Will the Pats blow out the Colts like everyone else?
No.

Will Brady connect to Moss?
Yes. But expect Bob Sanders to hit Moss every time he gets a chance.

Who will be the star of this game?
Dallas Clark. Everyone expects the other guys to have big games, but Dallas always seems to come up big at the right time.

Will NFL karma play a role in this game?
Yes. This is the game where the Pats' poor sportsmanship, their running up the score comes back to bite them. They're basically a bully that's going to get punched for the first time and they won't like it. Here's the thing about the Pats. They cheated, got caught and then got pissed about and decided to vow to destroy and embarrass the rest of the NFL. But it still doesn't change the fact that they cheated. They were always in the wrong here. They're really just pissed that they got caught. Though it is nice to have a team be a villain again. And anyone who knows me knows that I always thought they were this villainous team disguised as a team pushed by the mainstream sports media as America's team because their name is the Patriots.

Final score?
Colts 31, Pats 24