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NCAA Crystal Ball: MWC Football Preview

By Jaymes Langrehr | July 2, 2009 | MVN Outsider

We've already covered the Sun Belt Conference and the WAC...this week it's the Mountain West Conference, perhaps the most loaded non-BCS conference in the FBS.BCS Busters No More?Even though most people weren't expecting much from Michigan last year, when Utah marched into Ann Arbor and stole a win from the Wolverines in front of 100,000+ hostile fans, you had a feeling that they would go onto big things in 2008. They did exactly that, not only knocking off then-12th ranked TCU in a battle of the MWC unbeatens and then-14th ranked BYU in a blowout, but also destroying Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to complete an undefeated season. Utah may have trouble replicating that success in 2009, though, due to many of last year's impact players graduating. Quarterback Brian Johnson? Gone. Top receiver Freddie Brown? Gone. All-everything kicker/punter extraordinaire Louie Sakoda? Also gone.Will it be impossible to repeat as Mountain...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Air Force Falcons, BYU Cougars, Colorado State Rams, NCAA, NCAA Football, NCAA Outsider, New Mexico Lobos, San Diego State Aztecs, TCU Horned Frogs, UNLV Runnin Rebels, Utah Utes, Wyoming Cowboys

13-year-old football player "commits" to University

By Nick Miller | June 30, 2009 | SEC Junky

You would never guess who is stirring up the college football news today..... you guessed it the Tennessee Vols.I wouldn't necessarily say Lane Kiffin started anything himself, but 13-year-old Evan Berry says he's commited to the University of Tennessee.Evan, the younger brother of All American Safety Eric Berry, says he wants to play for defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.What I believe makes this story even somewhat newsworthy is how you can technically define the word "commitment."A kid can make a commitment to anything... but does him saying that he's "committed" to a specific school make it a commitment? Most would say "No." But I say "Yes!"Maybe this is why the word "commitment" and I don't get along very well. Whether it be with girls, or whatnot... I personally I think if you commit to somewhere and don't break it... than it's a legitimate commitment right? (Are you lost yet?)But how can a 13-year-old commit to a school when he hasn't even played a down of highschool football? Exactly.That's really all it is. A 13-year-old saying he wants to go to UT is like me saying I wanted to grow up and be a millionaire. Neither one of the things have happened, but it's really not up to me to decide. It boils down the the University and what they want to offer. Personally the University of Tennessee offered me an education that I have yet to pay off and currently I can't find a job. (So I guess UT's put me further away from my million dollar dream.).... as far as Evan Berry goes, we'll have to wait until 2013 to see what happens.Long live the SEC. ...

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More on Sens draft pick D Chris Wideman

By Colin Jeffrey | June 28, 2009 | Colin Jeffrey's 301

Howdy from a now rainy Ottawa. Emailed Nick Petraglia, who is the Director of Hockey Operations at the University of Miami (Ohio) yesterday regarding Senators 4th round pick D Chris Wideman and this was his reply; "Chris is a solid puck moving defensemen with good poise and offensive instincts. He is a key cog to our top power play unit and a good skater. As a smaller kid he needs to continue to improve his strength. I would categorize him as a Brian Rafalski type player." Also Nick told me Chris's nickname is 'Wides'. In guess 'C-Dubya' lasted all but 1 day for me. Thanks again...

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Miami (OH), NCAA, NHL, Ottawa Senators

NCAA Crystal Ball: MWC Football Preview

By Jaymes Langrehr | July 2, 2009 | MVN Outsider

NCAA Crystal Ball: WAC Football Preview

By Jaymes Langrehr | June 25, 2009 | MVN Outsider

After taking a look at the Sun Belt Conference in preparation of football season last week, we turn our attention out West, to the WAC. It's a conference that's traditionally been dominated by Boise State and filled with shootouts that end up looking like basketball scores. Here's your 2009 WAC preview:Can Anyone Buck the Broncos?Boise State hasn't lost a WAC game since November 23, 2007 -- a 39-27 shootout against Hawaii in their last regular season game of the year. In the past five years, the Broncos have lost a grand total of two conference games. All-time, the Broncos have a WAC record of 60-4. Needless to say, they've dominated the conference since joining, and will continue to be a favorite to win the conference despite losing leading rusher Ian Johnson and leading receivers Jeremy Childs and Vinny Perretta. The good news is that quarterback Kellen Moore returns after throwing...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Boise State Broncos, Fresno State Bulldogs, Hawaii Warriors, Idaho Vandals, Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, NCAA, NCAA Football, NCAA Outsider, Nevada Wolf Pack, New Mexico State Aggies, San Jose State Spartans, Utah State Aggies

NCAA Crystal Ball: Sun Belt Football Preview

By Jaymes Langrehr | June 18, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Believe it or not, we're just a few months away from the college football season. Considering we're in a bit of a lull when it comes to college sports, can you really blame those who are already looking ahead to September 3? Starting today, we'll take a look at every conference in the FBS, picking out conference champions and potential bowl teams. We'll do this every Thursday until the start of the college football season, so be sure to keep checking back. This week, we start small with the Sun Belt Conference.New Kids on the BlockFormer FCS power Western Kentucky completes its transition to the FBS this year by officially joining the Sun Belt Conference. It's been a predictably rough transition for the Hilltoppers -- they went 2-10 as an independent last season, with their two wins coming against Eastern Kentucky and Murray State. They did put up a fight...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Arkansas State Red Wolves, Florida Atlantic Owls, Florida International Golden Panthers, Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, NCAA, NCAA Crystal Ball, NCAA Football, North Texas Mean Green, Troy Trojans, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

NCAA Crystal Ball: Floyd Leaves USC a Sinking Ship

By Jaymes Langrehr | June 11, 2009 | MVN Outsider

It's funny how quickly things can change, isn't it?Three months ago, Tim Floyd was flying high as the head basketball coach at USC. His program produced two likely lottery picks in two years -- O.J. Mayo and DeMar DeRozan -- and was coming off a third straight NCAA tournament appearance. He had another top-flight recruiting class coming in for next season that likely would have guaranteed a fourth straight tournament appearance and a chance at a Pac-10 title.Two months ago, Floyd was offered the head coaching job at Arizona. Such an offer would be the highlight of most coaches' careers, with the Wildcats having such a long history of winning under Lute Olsen. There likely would've been no hard feelings in Los Angeles if Floyd did take the job, even though the Wildcats are a conference rival. Instead, Floyd felt confident enough in what he was building at USC to...Read more

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: NCAA, NCAA Basketball, NCAA Crystal Ball, NCAA Outsider, USC, USC Trojans

NCAA Crystal Ball: Don't Scrap the NBA Draft Rule

By Jaymes Langrehr | June 4, 2009 | MVN Outsider

It's safe to say that the NBA's "19 plus 1" draft rule, requiring American-born players to be at least 19 years old and one year removed from their high school's graduating class, has been controversial since its inception. There's been complaining about the rule every year, despite the obvious positive effects its had on both college basketball and the NBA. The latest? Congressman Steve Cohen writing a letter to David Stern asking the league to scrap the rule and let high schoolers enter the draft once again.Those who want to ditch the rule have a compelling argument. They say it's not right that the league is preventing capable people from pursuing a career. They say that 18-year old kids should be allowed to make bad decisions. It builds character. Or something.The problem is that the rule isn't in place to keep kids from making bad decisions or earning a living. ...Read more

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NCAA Crystal Ball: How Long Until Cal Causes Headaches at UK?

By Jaymes Langrehr | May 28, 2009 | MVN Outsider

When Kentucky pulled the trigger and fired Billy Gillespie to get John Calipari, I wrote a piece questioning whether officials in Lexington would come to regret the decision -- were they comfortable forfeiting a fairly steady reputation to hire a guy who had run-ins with the NCAA at Massachusetts and gave everyone a fishy feeling at Memphis?Now there's news that the NCAA is considering laying the smackdown on the Memphis athletic department, to put it mildly. There are reports that a player from the 2007-2008 national runner-up basketball team cheated on the SAT and that the program knew about it. According to the report, the player in question played on that team and only played one season for the Tigers -- basically, the NCAA made sure everyone knew the player in question was Derrick Rose...nobody really needed a source to tell ESPN.com that bit of info to figure it out. ...Read more

Read more | 4 Comments | Tags: Kentucky Wildcats, Memphis Tigers, NCAA, NCAA Outsider

NCAA Crystal Ball: Strasburg Hype Will Help College Baseball

By Jaymes Langrehr | May 21, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Stephen Strasburg has done something that seemed improbably a couple years ago -- he's made the Major League Baseball draft somewhat nationally relevant. Granted, the coverage of the upcoming draft hasn't gotten the press of its NFL (or even NBA) counterpart, but how long has it been since college baseball was considered relevant enough for a SportsCenter mention before the nation's top teams started showing off in Omaha?The hype surrounding Strasburg has been surreal -- some going as far to call him the "greatest pitching prospect ever" -- and there's no doubt that he'll have a hell of a time trying to live up to the expectations that are being placed upon him. Still, could you imagine anything better possibly happening for college baseball and the MLB draft?Major League Baseball announced that they're doing something the NBA has already done and the NFL is in the process of doing --...Read more

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: NCAA, NCAA Crystal Ball, NCAA Outsider, San Diego State Aztecs

NCAA Crystal Ball: Will Paulus Succeed at Syracuse?

By Jaymes Langrehr | May 14, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Greg Paulus recently ended a month's worth of speculation by deciding to play football for Syracuse in this upcoming season. Paulus flirted with the NFL, working out with the Green Bay Packers, and about "two dozen" more college programs in the past month before settling on his hometown Orange. Those who can remember that far back might recall that The 'Cuse was one of schools Paulus was originally considering, due to the proximity of his hometown. Ultimately, he decided that the chance of becoming starting point guard at Duke was too good of an opportunity to pass up.Now, the prodigal son returns, and brings along with him hopes of a semi-successful football season. There's nowhere to go but up for the Orange, who managed only three wins in 2008 and enter the new season with a new head coach. Apparently new coach DougMarrone hasn't made any promises to Paulus about...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Duke Blue Devils, NCAA, NCAA Crystal Ball, NCAA Football, NCAA Outsider, Syracuse Orange

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