Let's settle this mess

Yeah, it's been awhile. I'm sorry. Forgive me blog, for I have forgotten thee. Well, let's jump right back in.

The BCS is settled, barring any unforeseen upsets of USC and Texas. Both are clicking and destroying the competition and should meet up in the Rose Bowl. I understand that Miami and LSU are playing well, but both of them messed up by losing to sorry teams. Florida State and Tennessee are abysmal this year, but they still were able to upset the 'Canes and Tigers at the beginning of the year.

While they are solid teams and would make for a great bowl matchup, neither Miami nor LSU can make a claim at a national title game right now. Not with two unbeaten teams that are clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the country. Should either USC or Texas fall, however, that will be an interesting debate as to who deserves the Rose Bowl berth.

Speaking of LSU (aside: let's be brutally honest up front, I hate LSU. And yes, even as an "unbiased" journalist, it does cloud my judgment at times), the Tigers continue to amaze me at how they are able to win so many close games. I can't figure out if LSU is winning because Les Miles is a good coach or if the talent in Baton Rouge keeps rolling in spite of their new head coach.

Of course, I tend to lean toward thinking LSU is winning solely on talent. I thought at the time that hiring Miles was a major mistake. Now even moreso, I lean that way. He's winning close games with perhaps the most talented team in the nation. Yes, including USC. Top to bottom, there is more talent in Baton Rouge than anywhere. That's how good of a coach Nick Saban was. He just amassed a wealth of talent.

Right now, however, it seems as if LSU is the class of the SEC. Of course, it's tough not to be because the SEC is so down this year. Ole Miss, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky -- it's easier the list the teams that are bad this year than the ones that are good.

Right now it's a race between Georgia and South Carolina to win the East and meet up with LSU. I'd be surprised if LSU defeated either of those teams. However, Miles -- or better yet, his team -- has surprised me more than once already.

Football Friday Night

A big shout out to my alma mater, Ruston High, for roughing up St. Amant in the first round of the playoffs Friday night. Now it gets a bit tougher. Up next is a trip to Reserve to face No. 2 seed East St. John and its high-powered offense.

This is the toughest team Ruston will face this year, outside of West Monroe. However, the Bearcats are playing extremely well and have a chance for the upset.

Mark this down ... whoever wins this game will play West Monroe in the state championship game.

The other team in Lincoln Parish, Cedar Creek, didn't fare so well. As the sixth seed, the Cougars were upset in the first round by Plain Dealing. Not only were they upset, they were pounded, 58-24.

The loss disappointed me because I thought the Cougars could make a deep run, or at least had the talent to do so. I guess this just goes to show that any team, even one that was 4-6 during the regular season, can be any other team on any given night.

Cedar Creek will be back next year, though. They lose 10 seniors, which will hurt, but return most of their skill players -- most importantly Justin Aldredge, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards as the Cougars' quarterback this year.

At 6-foot and 205 pounds, Justin has the skills, athleticism and football savvy to become a great player on the college level. His father and Cedar Creek's coach, after all, played in the NFL.

They just keep running and running ...

Monday and Tuesday are big days for the runners across the state, as the state cross country meet will be held in Natchitoches.

Lincoln Parish is the home to three of the best programs in the entire state -- Ruston, Cedar Creek and Choudrant.

Choudrant's boys have won two straight state titles and boast the past two state individual champions on the same roster. Kasey Baker won the title two years ago, and Hank Festervan is the defending champ. Baker, only a sophomore, is perhaps the best runner in the entire state.

Cedar Creek's girls have won four straight and are going for five in a row. Nobody has come close to touching them, and I don't think anyone will this year either.

Ruston High's girls are ranked second in the state. The runner-up last year, the Lady 'Cats are aiming for their first state title. After the heartbreak from a year ago -- when it appeared Ruston would run away with the title, but one of their girls passed out and didn't finish the race -- they are primed and ready to take home the title this year.

On a personal note ...

I wanted to post this link to anyone who might be reading. This contains the column I wrote for Monday's paper about my stepbrother and Veterans Day.

By the way, for anyone who might be reading the blog for the first time thanks to the link at Wayne's World, welcome aboard. Keep checking back in and by all means, leave some comments please!!!

I wanted to post three pictures that show the kiwi (Connor) and apple (Caleb), along with my the love of my life (Elizabeth). I'm still waiting pictures of the grape (Thomas) so that I post on here as well.

Top Left: Uncle Bret and Tatum Connor McCormick clowning for the camera.
Top Right: Caleb Charles Granger on the couch with his Aunt Bee on the floor.
Bottom: Caleb slummin' on the couch with Uncle Bret.

T.O. no mo' in Philly

It's 3:30 p.m. on Monday and already there are way too many things to talk about. So let's jump right in.

TERRELL OWENS IS DONE FOR THE YEAR

My first thought is, "Hallelujah!" I could go on and on about this ongoing T.O. soap opera over the last two years, but I'll keep this short and sweet. It's about dang time! The Eagles' management should have cut ties with Owens during the offseason when he constantly complained about being underpaid.

From the time Philly acquired the cocky receiver, I thought they had made a mistake. When he made a miraculous comeback from a broken leg to play in last year's Super Bowl, I actually began to be blinded into thinking Owens was more than he really is -- which is simply an arrogant, selfish athlete.

Owens began to reestablish his true identity during the offseason, when he based his quarterback, Eagles consummate pro Donovan McNabb, and the front office for failing to reward him for his unselfish, heroic act of playing hurt. Instead of cutting ties with him immediately, they gave him another chance.

But Owens reverted back to the way he was in San Francisco. When the team is winning, everything is OK. However, if the team starts losing, Owens is the solution to the problem. He can't be part of the problem. If the team isn't winning, it's because T.O. isn't touching the ball enough. He's not getting enough chances to make big plays. McNabb isn't looking his way enough.

Well everything has finally come to a head. After being suspended against Washington last night, a game in which the Eagles lost 17-10, Philly said today that Owens is done for the year. He'll be suspended for three more games, for conduct detrimental to the team, and then be deactivated for the rest of the season. Good move -- one of just a few the Eagles have made all year, as they've struggled to a 4-4 record over the first half of the season.

So what's next? With the Eagles, who knows? Are they going to cut ties with T.O. or give yet another chance? I sure hope they are fed up with his antics and either try to trade him -- hey, I'm sure Baltimore is still in the market -- or just cut his sorry tail. Either way, if T.O. ever suits up for Philly again, I'll be very surprised and very disappointed.

After the game, McNabb said it was tough losing a player with Owens' talent but Philly might be better off because they can now concentrate on playing as a team. I hope the Eagles go 8-0 during the second and go on to win the Super Bowl -- just to prove to T.O. that he isn't the biggest thing the NFL and a team can win without him.

In other sports news around the country ...

Alabama has a lead about thisbig over Miami for the third spot in the BCS rankings, which were released earlier today. Granted, it most likely won't mean much of anything because USC and Texas will likely win out. However, if either team stumbles, we could be set up for an interesting debate. Miami is playing like one of the best -- if not the best -- teams in the country right now, but it would be hard to keep an undefeated 'Bama team out of the national title game in favor for a 1-loss Hurricane team. The 'Canes are ranked ahead of the Tide in the AP poll, but it's no longer a part of the BCS rankings. The question is will Miami be able to convince enough coaches that they are better than 'Bama? Of course, LSU could make this whole conversation moot when the Tigers travel into Tuscaloosa this weekend. But can Les Miles win a big game? That's a discussion we'll have later in the week.

The AP released its preseason basketball poll today, and the Duke Blue Devils are ranked No. 1. Perhaps more surprisingly, neither North Carolina nor Kansas are ranked.

In my opinion, Duke is clearly the best team in the country. JJ Redick and Shelden "The Landlord" Williams are both first-team All-Americans. Redick is the best pure shooter in the country and has improved in every aspect of his game every single year. Williams is simply the best post player in the nation.

The Devils also have a new Laettner-Hurley combination in true freshmen Josh McRoberts and Greg Paulus. McRoberts is a 6-10 forward who is a gifted scorer in the paint. Had he entered the NBA draft last year, he was a surefire lottery pick. Paulus, a 6-2 point guard, is the heir apparent to Redick as the Hated Dukie -- as pointed out by Luke Winn in this SI.com story Outside of those four, Duke has plenty of other talent in senior forward Lee Melchionni, who emerged last year as a sharpshooter off the bench, senior guard Sean Dockery, the latest in a line of tough perimeter defenders, sophomore David McClure and freshmen Martynas Pocius, Eric Boateng and Jamal Boykin.

However, it might be the emergence of sophomore wing Damarcus Nelson that separates Duke from the rest of the country. What Duke has normally lacked has been an explosive scorer. They had it when Jason Williams ran the point guard and the year Luol Deng played in Chapel Hill. With Redick draining 3's and Williams/McRoberts pounding in the post, the difference-maker may be Nelson's scoring ability. Undersized at 6-3, he is similar to Hassan Adams at Arizona in that he can play any of four positions. He is perhaps the best rebounding guard in the country and also has plenty of skill to run the point if necessary.

Roy Williams got the monkey off his back last year in leading UNC to the national title. However, this year is his toughest coaching job ever. Gone are three seniors and four underclassmen -- Marvin Williams, Raymond Felton, Sean May and Rashad McCants, all lottery selections. Roy must try to fit a puzzle together with little experience and considerably less talent than he had last season.

While Marvin Williams was perhaps the best player on last year's team as a freshman -- going No. 2 in the NBA draft attests to that -- he had the luxury of playing a supporting role on an experienced, super-talented team. Tyler Hansborough, on the other hand, does not.

Like Williams, the 6-9, 235-pound Hansborough is a multi-talented big man that can play on the perimeter or in the post. Unlike Williams, the Tar Heels need a double-double from Hansborough just about every night to be competitive. He'll play center for UNC this year and will need to pour in Sean May-like numbers every single game. Mike Copeland, Bobby Frasor, Marcus Ginyard and Danny Green -- the other four members of UNC's freshman class, a class Williams hopes is similar to to the May, McCants, Felton group -- will be called upon immediately to contribute.

David Noel, a 6-6 wing, is the Tar Heels' leading scorer returning -- and he was eighth on the team last year. He'll be needed to provide a power punch from the week, along with fellow senior Byron Sanders in the post. Reyshaw Terry will play some power forward, while Quentin Thomas will play on the perimeter.

But this team will center around the five freshman -- especially Hansborough. How quickly they mature and develop will determine how far -- or if -- the Heels go in the tournament.

That's about all the time I have right now. There may be another update tonight -- or maybe not. Until then, we'll see ya when we see ya next time!

GITMO

The Philadelphia Eagles are getting on my last nerve!

They are about to get the ball back with 2:55 left in fourth quarter, trailing 17-10 to the Washington Redskins. 1st and 10 from their own 15-yard line. Can Donovan McNabb engineer a game-tying drive? Despite having a sports hernia and banged up ribs, I have no doubt that he can. Outside of Brett Favre, there isn't a more dangerous, gamer of a quarterback than McNabb. The fact Philly is in danger of dropping to the cellar of the division, after dominating it in the past years, isn't what irks me about this team.

No, it's how they're handling my boy -- rookie running back Ryan Moats. Moats, who is 5-foot-8 and 210 pounds, is simply one of the most outstanding running backs that I've ever seen. He also happens to be a personal friend of mine. Moats is inactive for this game, as he has been for six of the Eagles' eight games this year.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out Andy Reid and this team. They chose Moats in the third round of last year's draft, after the jitterbug rushed for more than 1,700 yards and earned the Offensive MVP award in the Western Athletic Conference as a junior last year. Moats, who is very similar to the Eagles' starting running back, All-Pro Brian Westbrook, was supposed to be a backup plan and second option to Westbrook. So far he has yet to even get his chance at sniffing the field.

After coming in during the preseason and giving a glimpse of his incredible skills, Moats has had to watch almost every week. He sat on the inactive list for the first five games of the year before getting his first shot in Week 6 against San Diego as a kickoff returner. He touched the ball twice before being knocked out of the game with a mild concussion. He returned to practice that week and was active for the following game, despite not playing. This week, Moats again returned to the inactive list.

Much of the excuse for Moats not playing has been his seeming inability to grasp the Eagles' playbook, considered one of the most complicated in the NFL. Reid and offensive coordinator Brad Childress have acknowledged Moats' great ability. However, they've said he hasn't grasped the system well enough, particularly in being a receiver out of the backfield -- something the Eagles ask from Westbrook.

The Eagles have had a great deal of problems this season running the football. Coming into tonight's game, they had thrown the ball on an incredible 72 percent of their plays. That's a ridiculous amount of passes! They like to use Westbrook in the passing game, which he is fine with, as long as he gets a certain amount of touches per game. But the lack of a running game could easily be solved by using a combination of Westbrook and Moats. Here's a novel concept -- the two are not mutually exclusive; they can line up together in the same backfield!

The Eagles season has been followed by a huge shadow with off-the-field issues concerning Westbrook and Terrell Owens. Both of those situations were fixed this year, as Westbrook's contract squabbles were fixed with a five-year extension and T.O.'s continual running of the mouth caused him to be suspended indefinitely. Now the problems on the field must be addressed, and some of those can start with putting Moats on the field.

McNabb, who engineered a great drive down inside Washington's 10-yard line, just threw his 8th interception of the season with 1:25 left to basically seal the game. After playing in the Super Bowl in January, less than a year later, the Eagles find themselves in dead last in their own division at 4-4.

It's gutcheck time for the Eagles. They can end up 4-12 or they can end up 12-4. Andy Reid has a great deal of soul searching to do right now. The defense, which hasn't been able to stop the run much all year, stepped up against the Redskins and performed admirably. But the offense is still woeful. Reid must make a commitment to the running game, and that includes allowing Moats a chance to make a difference. Pure and simple, the kid is electric and he is a difference-maker. It's long past time to give him a chance to show what he can do.

Other thoughts around the NFL ...

Bravo, Dick Vermeil. That was a gutsy, gutsy call going for it on 4th down from the 1. Larry Johnson leaped over the top to give the Chiefs a 27-23 win over Oakland. However, I am tired of the crying Dick. Football is a game of emotion -- BUT NOT THAT KIND OF EMOTION!

Cincinnati roughed up on Baltimore. Carson Palmer threw for more than 250 yards and continues to show that he is an MVP candidate. Marvin Lewis has done a great job with the artist formerly known as the Bungles. They need to get over the Pittsburgh hump, but Palmer is established himself as perhaps the best young quarterback in the NFL.

Tampa Bay lost for the second time in a row, falling to 5-3 on the season. After starting 5-1, the Bucs are 0-2 since losing Brian Griese at QB. Simply put, the Chris Simms experience isn't working. The Bucs acquired Timmy Rattay from San Fran as the backup plan, but it's about time Jon Gruden makes TIM-MAY option #1.

Atlanta moved to 6-2 with a win over Miami. I know Vick's QB rating and statistics aren't nearly in the elite level, but how can you not like #7? The kid simply makes jaw-dropping plays, and the Falcons continue to rack up wins.

During the NFL draft two years ago, I couldn't understand the hype around Eli. Now he's beginning to show what all the hoopla is about. While Palmer is the best young QB in the league, Eli might have more upside than anymore. Eli and Plaxico -- the new Peyton to Marvin?

Speaking of Peyton and Marvin ... the Colts face their inner and outer demons Monday night as they travel to Foxboro to face the defending world champion New England Patriots. Can Peyton shake the Pats? With Tedy Bruschi back and the Pats' defense as good as ever, I don't think they will. The Colts fall to 7-1 on the season, while the Pats begin their annual late-season run towards home field in the playoffs.

In other sports news ...

In something that really might only matter to me, the Louisiana high school football playoff brackets were released today. Here are my predictions for the state title games, played for the first time this year in Shreveport, instead of New Orleans, thanks to Hurricane Katrina:

5A -- West Monroe over East St. John
4A -- Bastrop over Neville
3A -- Notre Dame over Wossman
2A -- John Curtis over Sterlington
1A -- Evangel over Oak Grove

The latest BCS rankings come out Monday. My predictions are 1) USC 2) Texas 3) Miami 4) Alabama 5) LSU. With Miami demolishing Virginia Tech, the BCS have taken a slight breath of relief. Should USC and Texas run the table, we have our national title game. Alabama, even if they run the table and win the SEC title, doesn't have too much of an argument since Miami has already passed them in the polls and will most likely be ranked ahead of the Tide for the rest of the year. It would be interested if an undefeated SEC champion from Alabama is left out of the national title game for the second straight season.

The Larry Brown era in New York has gotten off to a great start, as the Knicks lost tonight (to Golden State, no less!) to fall to 0-3 on the season. It's still far too early to hit the panic button in the Big Apple, but it's certainly not the way Brown wanted to start his latest -- and 20th??? -- stop in the NBA.

On a related NBA note, it's still far too early to know anything about how this season will shake down. Miami will hurt a little over the next month or so while Shaq nurses his injured ankle. It's time for LeBron James to take his game to the next next level. How good can the Cavs be? As good as King James wants them to be. After averaging 27 pts, 7 asts and 7 rebs last year, he could realistically go for the triple double this year -- or even 30, 8 and 8. The new-look Cavs should be one of the top five teams in the East and have a shot to make a deep playoff run.

That's all my thoughts for this Sunday night. We'll catch ya when we catch ya next time!