Top 5 Players In College Basketball So Far

After a great weekend in college basketball, the season looks to be heading into the in conference season. No more one-sided affairs between top teams and the bottom of the pack mid-majors. It is time for even match-ups between rivals with the best teams and players.  I have decided to ranked the top five players in college basketball so far. So, here are my top five players.

Jeff Withey
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Jeff Withey

Kansas' Withey made a name for himself in last year's NCAA Tournament. In last year's Elite Eight game against UNC, he had 15 points and 8 blocks. That was one of his four games in the Tournament with 7+ blocks. This year he is proving his tournament performance was not fluke. This year, he is averaging 14.1 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game, and 5 blocks per game (Second in the country). He is team leader in rebounds and blocks and is second in points. He is a block shot machine. In their most recent game against then ranked #7 Ohio State Buckeyes, he led the Jayhawks to a victory with 14 points and 10 boards. Withey is a player I would love to build a college team around. He is a defensive force in the paint who can score and rebound the ball, too.

Michael Carter-Williams

Carter-Williams is the top true point guard in nation. He has had only four game where he has had less then 10 assists. He averages 12.4 points per game and 10.3 assists per game. He is the only player that currently averages 10+ assists. They need him to play well to win, evident by their most recent game, a loss to Temple. He did have 13 points, but was a dreadful 3-17 from the field and 7-15 from the line. He also only had four assists. Carter-Williams is the key to Syracuse's success this season.

Mason Plumlee
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Mason Plumlee

Plumlee is the best player on the nation's #1 ranked team, Duke. Without Plumlee, they would not have started off so well. He is averaging a double-double, with an average of 19.3 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game. He is also shooting an excellent percentage at .641%. Against the #2 ranked  Louisville, he had 17 points and 7 boards and when facing then #4 ranked Ohio State, he had 21 points and 17 rebounds, five of them offensive rebounds. He is a very good player who should be a great leader for the Blue Devils this season.


Doug McDermott

The 2012 First Team All-American returned to Creighton for his junior season and is currently lighting up the court. He is averaging 23.1 points per game (Third in the nation), 6.8 rebounds, and is shooting very efficiently. He is shooting .549 from the field, .509 from behind the arc and .873 from the charity stripe.  Facing Wisconsin, he had 30 points and 8 rebounds and when facing Cal, he had 34 points and 9 rebounds. McDermott should continue to be a top player in the country.

Cody Zeller
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Cody Zeller

Zeller is the best player on the highly ranked Indiana Hoosiers team. He currently averages 16.4 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game. He shooting percentage from the field is .626 and from the free throw line is .708. When Indiana beat Georgetown, the 7'0'' Zeller had 17 points and 8 rebounds and against UNC, he had 20 pints and 8 rebounds in the victory. Unlike the other players in this group, I believe Zeller has underperformed this season. He should have had more performances like he had against Central Connecticut State, when he 19 points and 19 rebounds. Now that he will be facing Big Ten competition game in and game out, he needs to be a real leader. I expect him to become an even better player as the season goes on. He should end the season averaging a double-double.

Bowl Predictions For 2012-13

Top 5 Bowls Games This Year

Eddie Lacy
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1. The BCS Championship is always a good game. This year it is bound to be a slugfest between two defensive minded teams, the defending national champions, the Alabama Crimson Tide and the undefeated Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Both teams have top defenses that will keep each opposing team's point totals very low. The difference makers will have to be on offense. Alabama's QB AJ McCarron has been in this situation before and will be outstanding in the game. The two-headed running attack of Eddie Lacy and TJ Yeldon have a combined 27 touchdowns this season. Alabama's top offensive players don't even touch the ball. They have the best offensive line in the nation. The Notre Dame offense doesn't have real stars, except for maybe Theo Riddick. When Riddick is going, the team is going to be more efficient. The game will be decided by who can break through the opponent's defense.

2. The Fiesta Bowl is the best BCS Bowl excluding the championship. It features two teams that less then a month ago were pitted to play in the National Championship. They are the Oregon Ducks and the Kansas State Wildcats. Both teams offensive's start with the run game. Oregon has two of the top runners in the nation, Kenjon Barner and DeAnthony Thomas. Kansas State's Collin Klein is a great dual-threat QB. This game will be decided by whose defense can keep the opposing offense in check. If either defense let's the QB make plays, there will be a lot of quick scores. 

Johnny Manziel
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3. In my mind, the Cotton Bowl Classic is a BCS Bowl, without the BCS label. Last season, the teams in the Cotton Bowl had higher BCS rankings then the teams in both the Sugar and Orange Bowl. In 2011, it had two top 17 teams. This year is no different. It has two high profile schools, with high-profile QBs. Landry Jones and the Oklahoma Sooners against Heisman winner Johnny Manziel and the Texas A&M Aggies. This match-up is a main event anywhere. What adds to the game is that Texas A&M left Oklahoma and the Big 12 to go to the SEC before the season. Oklahoma is not just representing themselves, they are representing the whole Big 12. The game is bound to be a thrilling shootout. We will see who will come out on top, the Faboulous Fresman Johnny Football or the Stout Senior Landry Jones. 

4. The Capital One Bowl always has a good match-up and this year is not an exception. On New Year's Day, the Georgia Bulldogs and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Both lost in their conference title games, with Georgia losing a heartbreaker and Nebraska getting blown out of the stadium. Both teams have very good QB's who have very different styles. Georgia's Aaron Murray is a skilled pocket-passer who has a very good arm. Taylor Martinez of Nebraska is a top dual-threat QB in the nation. The difference in the game will be Georgia's great defense led by LB's Jarvis Jones and Alec Ogletree. Both are in my top three LB's in the nation. They will decide the game.

Kolton Browning
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5. Independence Bowl has two very good mid-majors teams, the Ohio Bobcats and the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, pitted against each other. Louisana-Monroe shocked the nation by defeating Arkansas early in the season. Ohio started the season 7-0, but lost four of their last five games. This would be a good game to end that slump. Ohio's offense starts with RB Beau Blankenship. The junior HB has exactly 1500 yards on the season and averages 5.1 yards per carry on the season. Louisiana-Monroe's QB Kolton Browning leads the offense in both passing and rushing yards, with 2830 and 441 respectively. To win, the ULM QB needs to get the ball to his top receiver, Brent Leonard, who has over 1000 yards receiving on the season with 10 TDs. The winner of this game will need to take an early lead and count of their defense to stop the other team, while they score.

Bowl Predictions

Gildan New Mexico Bowl: Nevada def Arizona

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Utah State def Toledo

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: San Diego State def BYU

Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl: UCF def Ball State

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: East Carolina def Louisiana-Lafayette 

MAACO Las Vega Bowl: Boise State def Washington

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl: Fresno State def SMU

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Western Kentucky University def Central Michigan

Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman: San Jose State def Bowling Green

Belk Bowl: Cincinnati def Duke

Bridgeport Education Holiday Bowl: UCLA def Baylor

Advocare V100 Independence Bowl: Ohio def Louisiana-Monroe

Russell Athletic Bowl: Rutgers def Virginia Tech

Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas: Texas Tech def Minnesota

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force def Rice

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl: Navy def Arizona State

New Era Pinstripe Bowl: West Virginia def Syracuse

Valero Alamo Bowl: Texas def Oregon State

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: TCU def Michigan State

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: NC State def Vanderbilt 

Hyundai Sun Bowl: USC def Georgia Tech

Autozone Liberty Bowl: Tulsa def Iowa State

Chick-fil-A Bowl: LSU def Clemson

TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl: Mississippi State def Northwestern

Heart of Dallas Bowl: Oklahoma State def Purdue

Capital One Bowl: Georgia def Nebraska

Outback Bowl: South Carolina def Michigan

Rose Bowl presented by Visio (BCS): Wisconsin def Stanford

Discover Orange Bowl (BCS): Florida State def Northern Illinois 

Allstate Sugar Bowl (BCS): Florida def Louisville

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (BCS): Oregon def Kansas State

AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic: Texas A&M def Oklahoma 

BBVA Compass Bowl: Pittsburgh def Ole Miss

GoDaddy.com Bowl: Kent State def Arkansas State

Discover BCS National Championship (BCS): Alabama def Notre Dame 

The Cleveland Cavaliers Woes So Far

The Cleveland Cavaliers have only four wins compared to seventeen losses. The team has a record worse then the Detroit Pistons, the Orlando Magic, and the Charlotte Bobcats. After a  looking promising last year, Cleveland looked ready to at least compete for a playoff spot. They have taken a turn for the worse. I am very surprised by their downfall especially with the play of  certain players.

Anderson Varejao
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The team is getting very good production from it's best players. C Anderson Varejao is having a breakout season, averaging about 14 ppg and a league-leading 15.2 rpg. Of his 15.2 rpg, 6.1 of them are offensive boards. He is a candidate for NBA MVP and Most Improved Player. SG Dion Waiters, the fourth overall pick in the 2012 Draft, is averaging about 15 points a game. PG Kyrie Irving, last season NBA Rookie of the Year, is the team leader in points and assists per game with about 22 and 5 respectively. PF Tristin Thompson is also averaging about eight points and seven points per game.

Kyrie Irving broke his left index finger ten games into the season. Since then they have gone 2-10. They have beaten the Atlanta Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers, both playoff teams, during this stretch. But, without Irving, they have lost to the 8-12 Portland Trailblazers the 7-12 Orlando Magic, the 7-14 Phoenix Suns, the 7-15 Detroit Pistons twice. You can't lose all five games against these teams. That is asking for trouble.

Cleveland's offensive has been OK, nothing spectacular, but not horrible. The defensive has not been very good. They are last in the league in opponent's field goal percentage with almost .490 percent. The reason is that  they do not have a shut-down defensive player. They really need someone with length on the outside to guard a team's best wing player. They gave up 26 points to Kevin Durant, 25 to Joe Johnson, 30 to LeBron James, and 25 to Josh Smith. 

Kyrie Irving
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Cleveland does have some good news, Irving should return soon from his injury. His return should spark the team to perform better. He will create more shots for his teammates and will not be afraid to take a jumper. Even when Irving returns, the Cavs have got to play very aggressive and with an edge.  Waiters must be a more efficient scorer. He can't have an average field goal percentage of .363. Jeremy Pargo will also need to continue his good production (11.9 ppg) as Irving's back-up. He needs to shot better. If they can't turn the season around, especially if they can't make a good run and end up around the 10th-11th seed, expect a high lottery pick for Cleveland.

The 100th Grey Cup

Grey Cup Logo
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The Grey Cup is one of the most prestigious trophies in sports. It means a lot to Canadian football, it's players, and especially it's fans. This year was a big year for the Cup. It is the 100th time the Grey Cup trophy will be awarded to the best team in Canadian football. This year's game was played in Toronto, home of the first Grey Cup. Not only did Toronto host the first Grey Cup, it has hosted more then 45 Cups, making it the perfect spot for the centennial. 

The two teams that made the Cup this year were the Calgary Stampede and the hometown Toronto Argonauts. Calgary had played in twelve Grey Cups before this year's and won it six times. The Argonauts have a history of success in the Grey Cup, winning fifteen Cups in 21 previous appearances. 

Toronto's best player this season has been Slotback Chad Owens. In his fourth year in the league, he led the league in both receiving yards and combined return yards with 1,328 and 2,510 respectively. Owens is the East Divison's Most Outstanding Play and the CFL's Most Outstanding Player. 

While Toronto's top player was a passing threat, Calgary's best performer was their running back, Jon Cornish. Cornish led the league in rushing yards with 1,457, rushing attempts with 256, and tied for the lead in TDs with 11. He won the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Player. 

Pacino Horne
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The game's first score was when at the five yard line, Owens caught a screen pass from QB Ricky Ray and ran it in. The drive started when a fumbled handoff between Cornish and QB Kevin Glenn was recovered by Toronto. Calgary scored a field goal to make it 7-3.

The second quarter started with a bang. At their own ten yard line, Glenn dropped back to pass. He threw a low ball not close to any Calgary receivers. However, Pacino Horne was in the area and made a shoestring catch to get the interception at the 25 yard line. The rookie defensive back got up and finished the play by running into the endzone for a touchdown. This extended the Argonauts lead to 14-3. 

The Stampede missed a big opportunity. Down 17-3, Calgary had a 1st and goal at Toronto's eight yard line. On first and goal, they ran it up the middle with Cornish for five yards. On second and goal, they ran a sweep for Romby Bryant. Bryant had a loss of eight yards. Since in canadian football there are only three downs, they kicked a field goal. That made the score 17-6. Toronto very quickly countered by scoring on a play-action pass from to Dontrelle Inman from one yard out. That made the score 24-6 at the half.

Chad Kackert
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In the third quarter, both teams traded field goals. Calgary added another field goal early in the fourth. Toronto put the game out of reach when Andre Durie scored on a eight-yard touchdown pass. Calgary added a touchdown at the end, but it didn't matter as Toronto took the Grey Cup 35-22. It is their 16th Grey Cup title.

The winner of the game's MVP was Chad Kackert. He had 133 rushing yards on 20 carries. He also caught eight balls for 62 yards for is a game total of 195 yards. The Most Valuable Canadian of the games was Toronto's DE Ricky Foley. He had four tackles and one sacks.

3 Things To Remember About The 2012 Futsal World Cup

The FIFA Futsal World Cup ended earlier today in Thailand. After two and a half weeks of intense match-ups, a champion was declared yesterday. Futsal is soccer with some differences. Futsal is played indoors on a smaller, wood pitch with two twenty-minute halfs while utilizing a smaller ball.  Each team has only four players and a goalie on the floor at the same time along with free subs. This is the seventh ever FIFA Futsal World Cup.  The Full Count presents the three biggest storylines that you need to remember about the tournament.

1. An Amazing Final

The final featured Brazil and Spain. The two teams have combined to win all the Futsal World Cups, Brazil with five and Spain with two wins. Since 1996, the two have met four out of the five times in the final. The 2008 final between Brazil and Spain went to penalty kicks, where Brazil pulled out the victory. This final turned out to have the same amount of drama.

Brazil celebrating the victory
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The first half had no one score. The first goal of the match came about five minutes into the second half. Neto blasted a shot off a corner kick into the back of the net from far out. Five minutes later, Torras scored off a defliction off of Brazil's keeper, Tiago. A minute later, Spain broke the tie as the shot went off Tiago. With less then four minutes left, Falcao scored the equalizer with a line drive that was an upper 90°. With about one minute and thirty seconds left in the half, Spain picked up their sixth foul. The meant Brazil would get a PK. However, Rodrigo missed the shot. With about twenty five seconds left, Neto got the ball on the left side of the pitch. He got past the defender and shot a low line drive that went into the net.

2. Award Winners

The Golden Ball Award went to Neto. Neto had seven goals throughout the whole tournament. Eder Lima of Russia won the Golden Boot Award for scoring the most goals in the tournament with nine. However, seven of them came in a 16-0 annihilation of the Solomon Islands (It was actually closer this time then their match in the 2008 Cup, where Russia won 31-2). Italy's Stefano Mammarella won the Golden Glove Award for being the best keeper of the tourney. Argentina won the Fair Play Award.

3. Colombia's 1st Tournament

Miguel Sierra and Angellott Caro, who scored three goals
and three assists in the tournament
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Colombia qualified for their first ever Futsal World Cup in the spring by coming in fourth in the CONMEBOL Qualification. They were in Group F with Guatemala, Russia, and the Solomon Islands. In their first match, they were defeated by Guatemala, 5-2. Their next opponent was the Solomon Islands, who they beat easily, 11-3. Their last game of group play pitted them against Russia. Russia won 2-0. With group play over, Colombia was tied with Guatemala and the Solomon Islands for second place and an opportunity to make it to the knockout stage. Colombia advanced due to having the best goal differential. In the Round of 16, they defeated Iran 2-1. In the quarters, they won against Ukraine, 3-1. Next was the semifinals, where they were up against Brazil. After the first half the score was tied up at one. But, Brazil scored a goal at seven minutes into the half and then Colombia had an own goal. The score was then 3-1 Brazil and that is how it ended. They still  played in the third-place game, which they lost. Still, the tournament was a success for the team from South America.

2012 Asia Series

Asia Series Logo
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In Asia, the baseball season has just ended. Five of the top leagues in Asia have a postseason tournament, called the Asia Series, where the league champions and a host team vie to become the Asia Series Champions. The five leagues are Nippon Professional Baseball (Japan), Korea Baseball Organization, Chinese Professional Baseball League (Taiwan), China Baseball League, and the Australian Baseball League. This year's tournament is the sixth overall and first with six teams. After a few years without a tournament, the Asia Series returned last year. In previous year's there were only four teams in the tournament. 

The host of this year's Asia Series is the Lotte Giants of the KBO. They have won two KBO championships, but none since 1992. The team is one of the most popular teams in Korea, they had over 1,350,000 fans come to the 66 home games this year. 

The KBO's champion are the Samsung Lions. The Lions are returning to the Asia Series for the second straight year. Last year, they won the Korean Baseball "Triple Crown" by winning KBO regular season title, the Korea Series title, and the Asia Series title last year. 

The Giants celebrating winning the Japan Series title
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The winner of the NPB's playoff system, called the Climax Series, was the Yomiuri Giants. The Giants got a bye in the first round of the Central League's Climax Series. The next round had the Giants pitted against the Chunichi Dragons. Being the higher seed, the Giants get a one-win advantage in a first to four wins to win the series. That did not effect the Dragons as they won the first three games. The Giants  won the next three games to win the series and the Central League Climax Series Championship. In the Japan Series, the Giants beat the Pacific League champs Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters four games to two to win the title and the honor to represent the NPB in the Asia Series. Yomiuri has 22 Japan Championships and 34 Central League titles. 

The Lamigo Monkeys are representing CPBL in this year's tournament. Their last series appearance was in the Series in 2006, when they were the runner up's.

The CBL's representative is an All-Star team of league's best players. The team is called the China Stars. 

The ABL is sending the Perth Heat to the tournament, as they were the winners of their last season. However, the ABL's season for 2012, ended in February. 

Hung-Yu Lin of the Lamigo Monkeys
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The tournament has two groupings of three teams each. Pool A had the China Stars, the Lamigo Monkeys, and the Samsung Lions, while Pool B had the Lotte Giants, the Perth Heat, and the Yomiuri Giants. The first match of Pool A had the Monkeys against the China Stars. The Monkeys won 14-1. The next match was between Samsung and Lamigo. Lamigo took a one run lead in the fourth, and then another two in the seventh. Samsung couldn't equalize the score as Lamigo won 3-0. The win clinched first place in Pool A and a spot in the championship game. Samsung still had to face China in the last game. The Lions shutout the Stars 9-0. 

Pool B's first game was between the Lotte Giants and the Perth Heat. Lotte took the lead early and never gave it up, winning 6-1. The next match pitted the Heat against Yomiuri Giants. The game was all goose eggs through five innings. Both teams then scored one in the sixth. The Giants then broke the game open with three in the seventh and eighth. The Heat couldn't catch-up and the Giants won 7-1. The final match was the battle of the "Giants", Yomiuri and Lotte, for a trip to the championship game. Yomiuri struck first with one in the first inning. They never gave up the leave again, scoring one run in third, fourth, sixth, and ninth. They won 5-0. Yomiuri had six stolen bases during the game. The win set the finals as Lamigo vs. Yomiuri.

Lamigo had very clutch performers during the Series. DH Hung-Yu Lin was the star hitter for the Monkeys. He had two hits in both of the pool games, including three runs, one homer, and two RBIs. They also got a great pitching performance from  Michael Jonathan Loree Jr against Samsung. Loree Jr. threw a complete game shutout with only three hits and eleven strikeouts.

Yomuiri are also a very skilled team. OF Tetsuya Matsumoto had a great game vs. Perth. He had three hits, two RBIs, and a sacrifice. In pool play, SS Hayato Sakamoto had four hits, three RBIs, two runs. In the regular season, Sakamoto had 173 hits, a .311 batting average, .359 OBP, .456 slugging percentage, and 87 runs.

Hayoto Sakamoto
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The finals pitching match-up featured Paul Williams Phillips for Lamigo against Ryosuke Miyaguni for Yomiuri. No one had runners cross home in the first. In the top of the second, Yomiuri put up a four spot. The ran Phillips out of the game in that inning. The Monkeys got across a run in the fourth. The Giants greaten the lead by having a runner cross the plate once in the sixth and seventh inning. Miyaguni left the game after six innings, giving up only four hits and the one run. With the 6-1 lead in the ninth, the Giants brought in closer Kentaro Nishimura. Nishimura had 32 saves and 12 holds in 69 games the NPB regular season. The Monkeys were not dead though. They had two runners score in the inning before Nishimura got the third out. The Giants won the game 6-3.

Sakamoto won the Asia Series MVP Award. In the tournament, he had four hits, two runs, five RBIs, a .308 batting average, and five total bases. This is the fifth title for a NPB team in the Asia Series and the third time a team from the CPBL was the runner-up. All three times they lost to NPB teams. This is the Monkeys second time being runners-up. This is is the first Asia Series title for the storied Yomiuri Giants.

The 2012 New York Jets QB Election

The New York Jets have a bye week this weekend. The team is at a crossroads. Mark Sanchez  is the current quarterback, but is struggling. His backup is none other than Tim Tebow, who took a team that was 1-4 last year to the playoffs. There have been calls to have Sanchez removed from the position for Tebow. However, third stringer Greg McElroy could still be the best. All this comes during the presidential election, which is why I have deem the situation, the 2012 New York Jets QB Election.

Mark Sanchez
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Why Mark Sanchez Should Be The QB?

He has brought the team to two consecutive AFC Championship Games. In the playoffs he has beaten the Bengals, the Chargers, the Colts with Peyton Manning, and the arch-rival Patroits. He beat three of the best QB's at the time (Tom Brady, Manning, and Phillip Rivers). Tebow has not had the experience, in the playoffs and with the system than Sanchez.

Why Mark Sanchez Should Not Be The QB?

He has had his opportunity to succeed and win with this team. He has failed. The team lost to Miami. In the win vs Indy, he only threw for 82 yards. They were very lucky that the running game was on fire. He can't throw consistently to his receivers.

Tim Tebow
http://thepenaltyflagblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Tim-Tebow.jpg

Why Tim Tebow Should Be The QB?

TEBOWMANIA is back! He has lead teams left for dead to the playoffs and won in the playoffs against a top defense. His playoff win was against Pittsburgh, who beat Sanchez in the playoffs. Tebow is also a much better leader. Just listen to his speech "The Promise", which he gave at Flroida after a loss to Ole Miss.

Why Tim Tebow Should Not Be The QB?

In Denver, Tebow was effective with a heavy run system. The Jets don't have the running backs to be effective in that system. Shonn Green is very, very sketchy. Bilal Powell is just a rookie and might take long learning the new system. Joe McKnight might be the best fit, but he is not very good inside the tackles. They need an all-around HB to be effective. They don't have that. 

Greg McElroy
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Why Greg McElroy Should Be The QB?

What do you have to lose. Besides, he, like Tebow, has a BCS Championship win in his colligate career. In the preseason, he got the team's first touchdown of the preseason, a six yard TD pass to Terrence Ganaway. He led the team in completion percentage (69.8%), yards per attempt (6.0), and passer rating (99.7). I know the preseason doesn't mean much, but if he can perform like how he did in the preseason, McElroy would be an upgrade over both Sanchez and Tebow.

Why Greg McElroy Should Not Be The QB?

He has never played in a regular season game in the NFL. Why should he start now?

The Result

The decision of who will be the QB will be decided by Head Coach Rex Ryan, GM Mike Tannenbaum, Owner Woody Johnson, and probably a few other key front office personal. Unlike the Eagles, the Jets have been supportive of Sanchez. They have always said that Mark is their man. But, they can change that faster then a snap of the fingers. I would think that Tebow would be starting next week, if they had a better running game. In Denver, he had three very good running backs. He doesn't have any here. McElroy is like an independent in the election. In the race, but has a very little of winning. Sanchez looks like he will be the starter, but he is very lucky. If the Jets had a good running back, Sanchez would have the headset on while Tebow is out on the field. 

2012 NBA Preview: Five Interesting Teams

Brooklyn Nets 

Joe Johnson, Kris Humphries, Brook Lopez, Deron
Williams, and Gerald Wallace
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The Nets franchise has returned to New York after spending the last 35 seasons across the Hudson River in New Jersey. the move to a new city comes with a whole new look. The face of the franchise is PG Deron Williams, who resigned with the Nets in the off-season. Unlike the last few years in NJ, Williams has a legitimate playoff team to lead. He has newly-acquired G-F Joe Johnson who is a good shooter, defensive stopper Gerald Wallace, rebounding machine Kris Humphries, and big-man Brook Lopez. This is a very good starting line-up. However, I believe they will be at their best when they put in a small line-up. Williams at PG, MarShon Brooks at SG, Johnson at SF, Wallace at PF, and Lopez or Humpfires at C.  With this line-up, they will be able to stretch the floor and get some open shots. I expect the Nets to be contenders in the East.

Detroit Pistons 

The Pistons are going through a rebuilding stage that will take another year or two until they start to make a playoff run. They need build their team around bigman Greg Monroe. Monroe is going into his third year, andlast year averaged 15.4 ppg and 9.4 rpg . This year, he needs to start averaging 20 and 10 to start to turn this team around. Backing up Monroe is rookie Andre Drummond. Drummond has the potential to be a star, but could also be a major bust. I think he will fit in well in Detroit, as he will be given time to develop as the back-up center. Detroit's backcourt of Brandon Knight and Rodney Stuckey can become one of the best in the league. Both are pure scorers that can drop 25 ppg when they get the shots. I would not expect much else from the team this year. 

Minnesota Timberwolves

Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love
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For the first time since the Kevin Garnett Era, the Timberwolves are relevant again. They have a face to the franchise in F/C Kevin Love and a side-kick in PG Ricky Rubio. However, both players are going to be starting the season on the bench due to injuries. Love looks to be back by late November-early December, while Rubio is projected to return in December. Until they return, the team's role player will have to step up big. Andrei Kirlinko signed with the T-Wolves in the off-season after spending a season with CSKA Moscow. He is going to be a key to the team's success as a wing player. Brandon Roy is returning to the NBA after retiring before the 2011-12 season. He needs to be a consistent scorer. Derrick Williams needs to begin to play like the number two pick he was drafted to be a year ago. With Love out, he should have time to improve. I think that if Love and Rubio return to a team that is in the playoff hunt, they will make the playoffs.

Portland Trail Blazers

Portland had a big drop-off performance last season. After having three consecutive seasons with a winning percentage higher then .585, the team from Rip City had a below .500 record. They now have a new coach and have to start over again. They still have All-Star PF LaMarcus Aldridge to build around. Aldridge is in his prime years and will be great this year. Rookie Damian Lillard was second in scoring last season in the NCAA and will bring those skills to the NBA. Lillard isn't the only good pick-up in the Draft. Meyers Leonard is going to be the a good starting center and Will Barton will be key off the bench. They resigned underrated Nicolas Batum in the off-season, who will do very well this year. If the Blazers go back to their winnings ways, they will easily make the playoffs. But, it is more likely that the season will be one of transition.

Golden State Warriors

Klay Thompson
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The Golden State Warriors can be a surprise team this year. They have a starting line-up that has the potential to be very good. They are led by PG Stephen Curry, who is a great shooter from distance and one of the better PG's in the game. But, he has some ankle issues that could flair up during the season. That is why Curry will not be the key to success this year. The key is second-year guard Klay Thompson. Thompson has the chance to be a great player and this year could be the year where he starts. Rookie  Harrison Barnes will be another good scorer on the team. If Curry, Thompson, and Barnes are all healthy and play very well, combined they could average 65-70 ppg. Golden State's post players are also good. David Lee and Andrew Boget will be rebounding machines. Golden State will come very close to making the playoffs,but will fall short. 

2012 World Series Infographic

DETROIT'S SECTION

SAN FRANSISCO'S SECTION

COMPARISONS

Picture Sources

The First BCS Poll of 2012

For the second straight week in college football, at least two top five teams lost to teams outside of the top five. Last week, Florida State lost to North Carolina State, LSU was upset by Florida, and Georgia lost to South Carolina. This week, LSU turned the tables on South Carolina by defeating them and West Viginia got blown out by Texas Tech. With the first BCS Polls just coming out, here is my review of the first released BCS poll.

SEC Pinwheel featuring all 14 teams, with half of them in
the top 25 of the initial BCS Standings
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The power of the SEC is shown in the BCS. Alabama (#1 in AP Poll, #1 in USA Today Poll,) has been dominating in every game they've played. It is clear that they are well deserving of the top spot in the BCS Poll. I am surprised that Florida (#3, #4) was ranked second. The teams they have played are a main reason for their ranking so high. They beat two one-loss teams in Texas A&M and LSU. They also have South Carolina and Georgia up next. The first two one-loss teams in the BCS Poll are LSU (#6 ,#6) and South Carolina (#9, #8) at six and seven respectively. Both are well deserving of their spots, with close losses to highly ranked teams, as stated in the first paragraph. The other SEC teams in the Poll are Georgia (#13, #12), who are 5-1 and ranked 11th in the poll, undefeated Mississippi State (#15, #16) is in the 12th spot, and 5-1 Texas A&M (#20, #19) is ranked 18th. 

The SEC team that I find most interesting is the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Last year, they were 7-6 with a 2-6 in conference record. They won their bowl game against Wake Forest. They haven't faced much competition, but their upcoming schedule is tough. The toughest part of their roster is a three week period starting on October 27th to November 10th. It starts in Tuscaloosa with a game against Alabama , then a home game vs. Texas A&M.  Next they travel to Baton Rouge to face the LSU Tigers. They have a good running game, led by LaDarius Perkins. In three of the last four games, Perkins has rushed for over 100 yards, including 179 vs. Troy. They also have a top fight receiver in Chad Bumpkins, who currently has 6 TD catches and averages 16.7 per catches. 

West Virginia dropped massively in the polls (#5 to #17, #4 to #15) after a surprising blowout against Texas Tech (#18, #20). I thought that they had a chance to make a run for an appearance in the BCS title game. It was a very unusual loss. The Mountaineers had no turnovers and have only five less first downs then the Red Raiders. The big factors were Texas Tech's Seth Doege had about 6 more average yards per pass then Geno Smith and West Virginia had five turnovers on downs.  For any team, that is going to put them in a hole. The big loss really put them in a hole, starting the BCS Poll at 13 and most likely out of the championship equation.

During  the last few years, the Big East has been the joke of the BCS. They don't have good teams and they don't deserve a BCS Bowl bid. They lost their most successful team in West Virginia. However, they have three undefeated teams left after seven weeks, Louisville (#16, #14), Rutgers (#19, #17), and Cincinnati (#21, #18). In the BCS Poll, Rutgers placed in at 15, Louisville is 16th and Cincinnati is 21st. Each team has had victories over teams from top conferences. The Scarlet Knights' big victory was against Arkansas, Louisville had a good victory over UNC, and the Bearcats of Cincinnati beat Virginia Tech. All teams are going to face off each other and whichever one can beat each other will most likely be in the BCS.

Beau Blankenship dives for the end zone
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There is only one team in the BCS Poll from a non-BCS conference, Boise State (#24, #22) who the BCS has at 22nd. However, if any mid-major should be in the first BCS Poll of the season should be the Ohio Bobcats (#25, NR). The Bobcats are one of the twelve currently undefeated teams , the only undefeated team from a mid-major conference, and the only undefeated team not in the Poll (excluding 7-0 Ohio State, whose ineligible for a bowl game). The Bobcats have a star running back in Beau Blankenship. Blankenship is second in FBS football with 951 rushing yards and his 1075 yards from scrimmage ranks him third in the country. In six of the team's games, he had 100+ rushing yards. Against UMASS, Blankenship had an incredible game, rushing for 269 yards on 43 carries, averaging 6.3 yards per carry, and 2 touchdowns. He is a top runner and if he is on, the whole team will be on.

ICC World Twenty20 Top Performers and Performances

Twenty20 cricket is a very new form of cricket, invented about 11 years. In T20 cricket, there is a maximum of twenty overs allowed and only one inning is played. The 2012 ICC World T20 is the fourth T20 World Cup and first to be held in Sri Lanka. The first T20 World Cup was in 2007, in South Africa. India defeated Pakistan to win the first ever title. The next cup was held  in 2009 in England.  Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka to win the championship. One year later, England beat Australia in the finals to win their first title. Here is our report on the top performers and performances of 2012 ICC World T20.

Shane Watson
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Shane Watson of Australia was named the Player of the Tournament. The all-rounder was the leader of the tournament in runs with 249 and had an average of 49.80 runs per match.  He was second in sixes with fifteen and tied for fifth in fours with nineteen. He also had three fifties, which tied him for first. While bowling he was second in wickets with eleven. Watson led Australia all the way to the semi-finals, where they lost to the West Indies. When Australia faced South Africa in the Super Eights, Watson had 70 runs, eight fours, and two sixes. He also had two wickets. When India went head-to-head with Australia also in the Super Eights, Watson had 72 runs, two fours, seven sixes, with 3 wickets. 

One of the more notable performances came from New Zealand's Brendon McCullum against Bangladesh in Group Play. McCullum got the only century of the tournament by scorng a total of 123 runs. He had sevens sixes and eleven fours. 

Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis was a top bowler in the tournament. In the first game of the tournament, Mendis had an outstanding performance. He had an economy rate of 2.00, which  tied for tournament best with eight runs given up in four overs, six wickets, a 4.00 strike rate, and twenty DOTS. Two of the four overs were maiden overs. Mendis led the tournament in wickets with fifteen, maidens with three, and DOT balls with 69.  He was also tied for first for most four wickets and most five wickets.

The finals of the World T20 was between the West Indies and the host Sri Lanka. Both had different trips to the finals. The West Indies were in Group B with Australia and Ireland. They lost to Australia and their match vs. Ireland was a no result do to rain. The West Indies were tied with Ireland, but made it to the next round based on having a better run rate. Sri Lanka was in Group C with South Africa and Zimbabwe. They lost to South Africa and beat Zimbabwe to make it through. Both were in Group 1 for the Super Eights. Sri Lanka won every match. The West Indies went 2-1 to make it to the semis. In the semi-finals, Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 16 runs and West Indies eliminated Australia in a blowout, winning by 74 runs. The West Indies was led by Chris Gayle.  Sri Lanka was led by Mendis and team captain Mahela Jayawardene.

Members of the West Indies Cricket Team celebrating
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In the finals, the West Indies batted first. They started off slow. There first two batters, Johnson Charles and Gayle, only scored three runs off twenty-one balls. Then came Marlon Samuels, who was on fire. Samuels scored 78 runs in 56 balls. When the West Indies got to twenty overs, their score was 137/6. For Sri Lanka, Jayawardene scored 33 runs, Kumar Sangakkara knocked in 22, and Nuwan Kulasekara scored 26 runs. However, the rest of the team couldn't score more then five runs a piece and only one player got more then ten balls thrown to them. When Sri Lanka ran out of batters, they scored 101 runs over 18.4 overs. The West Indies got the victory by 36 runs.