• The Lions have hired Jim Schwartz as their new Head Coach.  Usually, that kind of news would get me excited, but in the bad shape that the Lions are in I have little expectations for him to be a success in Detroit. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know that the Lions are lacking talent in just about everywhere, especially the defense. That’s why in my opinion, that the Draft in April is big for the Lions I mean they have 2 of the top 19 picks in the 1st Round.  They have to make each pick count, yet I have the feeling that they will draft a Quarterback with the 1st pick which would make absolutely no sense whatsoever.  But, there is alot of time between now and the Draft.  Good luck Coach Schwartz, you are going to need it.
• #1 Pitt got beat by Louisville tonight, and #3 Wake Forest went into Clemson and beat the #9 Tigers which means that Wake Forest will probably be the new #1 team in College Basketball. It really looks like that the ACC could have 3 teams possibly in the top 4 or top 5 in the Country.  Still in my opinion, I think the Big East is the better Conference this year based on depth but, the ACC is putting up a solid argument.  Also, I can’t forget the Big Ten Conference which is having a pretty solid year as well.
• Oh yes, my predictions for both Conference Championship games:
  Eagles 24 – Cardinals 14, Ravens 10 – Steelers 6.

• Between the Fiesta Bowl and the BCS Championship game, the Fiesta Bowl was by far the better game. It was a close game throughout and just when I thought Ohio State was going to pull it out, Texas sticks a dagger in their chest with a late TD.  The BCS Championship Game didn’t do anything for me probably because Utah finished their season undefeated.  I wish major College Football would implement some kind of playoff so teams like; Utah, USC, Texas, Florida, and Oklahoma would have a shot to face each other and settle it out on the field.
• I can’t wait for ESPN to take over the BCS games because the coverage on FOX is absolutely horrible.
• I was watching College Basketball on ESPN this afternoon, and they showed the upcoming Big East schedule on Big Monday and good grief, every game has ranked teams facing each other.  In my opinion, the must-see game on Big Monday is on February, 16th when Pittsburgh plays Connecticut.
• It wasn’t surprised that the Titans are 1-and-done in the NFL Playoffs.  I didn’t see Kerry Collins leading them to the Super Bowl, let alone winning it. It will be interesting to see who the Ravens will play next Sunday in order to go to the Super Bowl.
• Yikes, the Arizona Cardinals are 1 win away from the Super Bowl.  Jake Delhomme absolutely just fell apart by throwing 5 interceptions and having a fumble early in the game.  I thought Carolina could get to the Super Bowl on the strength of Williams and Stewart but when your Quarterback keeps throwing to the wrong team, there is no chance for them to have any impact on the game.

Here are My Thoughts:

• The Lions go 0-16 and the owner promotes 2 people to higher and better positions because of it.  That still defies any type of logic.
• The Big East is just absolutely loaded in College Basketball.  I have never seen a single conference have so many great – good teams in one season, and the schedule is just brutal.  Case in point; on Monday, December 29th, Georgetown goes into Connecticut and puts a beat down on the #2 ranked Huskies.  Then on Saturday, the #3 Pitt Panthers comes to D.C. and dominates the Hoyas.  Then on Monday, January 5th, the Hoyas go to South Bend and plays the Irish. That’s just a gauntlet to go through in a week but, many the rest of the Big East teams have a similar schedule like the Hoyas.  I can’t wait for the Big East Tournament to start in March because that will be very entertaining to watch.
• Congratulations to the Utah Utes on finishing up the season as the only undefeated team in College Football. And your reward for that, is by watching two other 1 loss teams play for the National Title.
• Big Ten Football is 10 laps behind the rest of the BCS conferences in College Football and doesn’t seem to be catching up.  After watching USC run laps around Penn State, can anybody see Ohio State compete against Texas in the Fiesta Bowl?
• How in the world is Matt Millen a guest on NBC’s playoff coverage. The rest of the panel shouldn’t give a freaking crap of what his opinions are.  This guy was the architect of the 0-16 Detroit Lions, and also drafted Mike Williams.
• The NFL Playoffs got off to a rousing start with both games averging a margin of victory of 6 points.  The Arizona Cardinals beat the Atlanta Falcons behind a stellar game from Kurt Warner. I didn’t think they would beat the Falcons because of the way they entered the playoffs but thanks to home field and Kurt Warner, they move on.  The San Diego Chargers went into overtime to take out the Indianapolis Colts and 3-time MVP Peyton Manning.  San Diego is very lucky they have Darren Sproles because he literally carried the Chargers to victory despite his fumble in the 2nd half.
• On that note, I want to personally thank the Chargers for doing a big favor to every football fan by killing the Manning Super Bowl.