Once Again, The NCAA is Decadent and Depraved (Let Shabazz Play!)

While you know my stance on saying "Free (insert name)", I support Flea getting on board with the unfair treatment of UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad.

Full disclosure here. I don't like the NCAA. I don't like the charade they represent. I think they are an outdated model fueled by greed and the desire to swing their power around. They claim to be about student-athletes and yet bring the hammer down on common sense situations instead of use wise discretion.

Shabazz Muhammad is the latest person to see this. The NCAA has made him ineligible to play for UCLA this season so far for taking "benefits" that apparently they knew about two years ago and approved. According to his family, the NCAA approved Benjamin Lincoln providing for housing and a plane ticket for unofficial trips to North Carolina.

Mind you, Lincoln is not connected with Duke or North Carolina so there is no bias here. He's not a booster. He's a financial advisor who's known Muhammad since he was in 7th grade. Now unless you want to assume that we all knew Muhammad would be a superstar in 2007, I believe this friendship goes deeper than just fame.

Surely the NCAA would see this after investigating for a year, right? Then again, this is the same organization that suspended Baylor forward Perry Jones at the end of the 2010-11 season after finding out his mother asked his AAU coach for money so they could make ends meet. Money that she paid back, by the way.

But they don't care. They see money exchanging hands and assume that it's corruption. It's like that famous scene in Casablanca (which upon watching reminds me exactly of the NCAA)

UCLA/USC Report (And Some Housekeeping)

As I introduce my weekly UCLA/USC report, there will be a change on the blog. The football wrap that I've written for 3 years will be discontinued and instead every Monday, I'll be uploading my video here on the blog. I enjoyed writing the wrap and finding cool tidbits, but I think to better focus myself as a writer, I need to invest more time in what works for me, which are short articles and videos.

I'll still be offering football-related thoughts as they come to mind, but they will be articles. Besides, it also frees me up to write something else on Monday or Tuesday if it comes up instead of being hamstrung to do the wrap.

Enjoy the video, where I salute Robert Woods and Matt Barkley's record-setting day against Colorado. I'm especially proud of Woods who I've covered since he was a HS junior. Here's a story I wrote about his work ethic and character back in high school.

Football Wrap Week 5A: Notre Dame - Why I'm Not Thrilled They're "Back"

I guess it’s gotten too much to ignore. Notre Dame keeps on winning and we have to keep pretending they are still relevant because of their legacy.

I keep hoping teams will knock them out and remind folks that this isn’t the 80’s or early 90’s. But each week, they keep winning and the old echoes of South Bend keep getting louder and louder.

They beat Michigan State. They made Shoelace Robinson look silly in defeating Michigan. And now, they destroyed The U. A game that had to make all the former Miami players sick as the Irish scored 34 unanswered points.

This is the highest Notre Dame has been ranked since 2006.  5-0 is 5-0. I respect it. But I don’t have to like what it represents. Some Notre Dame fans getting high and mighty and pretentious. Media types saying Notre Dame is back.

Full disclosure. One of my last college friends was a proud Irish fan. A good acquaintance from college is a proud Irish fan. I don’t hate all fans. But I guess I dislike them the same way people dislike the Lakers, Yankees, Duke and all those hateable teams.

My Thoughts on the UCLA/SI Expose

20 minutes of me talking to you about this UCLA article. I've also linked up the 2009-2010 and 2010-11 All-State teams that I spoke about in the article so you can see who UCLA did and didn't recruit.

Some key points to add. This isn't a UCLA problem. It happens at programs when winning is contagious and it attracts stars who don't buy into your system. It happens when coaches show favoritism to stars and those stars abuse that principle. It's a failure on the coaches and to a lesser extent, the players and as Remember the Titans said, "Attitude reflects leadership."

I also should add that athletic director Dan Guerrero deserves the lion share of the blame as well. I didn't address it in the video but Guerrero has overseen both the football and basketball programs declining and he's a lame duck AD in my opinion. This article is also an indictment of his laissez-faire attitude and not holding the basketball program to a higher standard befitting John Wooden's legacy. Throw in the issues with the football team and he needs to be fired as well.

As a journalist, I say don't always question the author's bias. Question the work to see if it reflects that bias or if it's information worth considering. I think George Dohrmann did great, investigative work and even if the story's purpose might be murky to some considering nothing illegal happened according to NCAA rules, it's a good insight into what I've suspected the last 4 years with UCLA and then some.

Let me know what you think. I'm still trying my hands at making videos and the lack of fear I had with doing this might be a good sign for the future.

Football Wrap: The Tide Rolls in the Bayou

Three Words. Beat. EM. DOWN!!! Alabama didn’t just win the title, they took it. They may not have belonged on first glance but they took the title by force in the greatest defensive performance in the BCS era.

The stats don’t tell the whole story but they say a lot about Bama’s D. 4 sacks, 1 INT, held LSU behind midfield for all but one drive and eventually pushed them back to punt. They allowed 92 yards of total offense. 92 yards from the No. 1 team in the nation.

Jordan Jefferson looked dazed and confused and unable to be a quarterback. LSU’s rushing game that floored a few times got dominated off the block. And the funny thing is the same thing happened in the 1^st game. Alabama’s offense played better.

Trent Richardson by himself had 96 rushing yards and the only touchdown of the night.  DragonflyJonez said it best on Twitter, 0 losses, 0 points in the final. Alabama destroyed LSU on a historic level in a similar way to how I saw the Baltimore Ravens destroy the NY Giants in Super Bowl 35.

Nick Saban won his 3^rd title in 8 years as is without a doubt the best coach in college FB. T-Rich wins his 2^nd title. And big ups to AJ McCarron being the first sophomore to win a BCS title game and earning every bit of it with 234 yards and a surprisingly great game behind center.

Final irony. In a year where kickers appeared to cost their teams everything in the end, how fitting is it that Alabama’s kicker Jeremy SHelley did most of the key work tonight.  Congrats to the Tide in a year where Tuscaloosa was ravaged by tornados and tragedy.

NFL Tibits.

Let’s recap a wildcard weekend where two WR’s had 200 yards in their debuts, a highpowered offense showed no mercy and a team suffered the worst embarrassment you can without being “shutout”

Drew Brees is on some Kurt Warner steez. He’s transformed the Saints into the 99-02 Rams and every time something happens, you sit back and wonder how ridiculous they are to stop. Their latest destruction: An NFL record of 616 yards of total offense.

Between him and Darren Sproles’ 2 TD’s, this was a bad week for Chargers fans. Need I remind you that D. Sproles is postseason money. Go look what he did to the Colts in 2009.

Pierre Thomas is a difference maker. I counted at least 4 hard runs that bullied their way through the teeth of the Lions D for 8-10 yards that were difference makers.

Big ups to Houston winning their 1^st playoff game. Remember the expectations I had in 02 of them possibly going to the playoffs. Well they finally met them. Next is now.

Atlanta are some playoff frauds. Frauds, I tell you. It’s still early before assuming Matt Ryan has peaked. I think Atlanta has zero defense to account for their offense and that’ll be their downfall. But that O has major questions about being inconsistent.

Only scoring 2 points is like being shut out in my mind.

Remember Me? I'm Still a Big Deal.

Hakeem Nicks just reminded everyone he was Victor Cruz last year. A sleeper who emerged out of nowhere. 2 TD’s in the postseason shows why the Giants are deadly. Secondaries can’t stop Nicks and Cruz at the same time. And oh by the way, Mario Manningham is lurking.

The Giants are 2007 scary.

Finally, you know why I’m finally giving Tim Tebow his props? Because he had his best game as a pro and did it in the playoffs. He took advantage of what the D gave him and his receivers did the rest. He took John Elway’s advice and let it rip.

Denver’s defense harassed a less than 100% Steelers team and a hurt Big Ben, yet Roethlisberger still led a late comeback like he always does. Only problem was before we could figure out these new overtime rules, Tebow and Demaryius Thomas capped off their great day with a 1-play bomb to end the game.

Coldest stiff arm since Marshawn Lynch stuffed Tracy Porter towards that TD.

The irony is that Tebow played terrible in the 2^nd half. Big ups to Thomas having an insane day on that Pittsburgh secondary and he deserves just as much credit as Tebow.

I honestly thought Big Ben was going to find a way to win like he always does. But everybody’s luck runs out and when you’re hobbling on 1 leg without Rashard Mendenhall, there’s only so much you can do.

This is the first NFL game I can truly say Tebow stepped up and won a game with his arm. The defense made great plays too but I give #15 his due. Dang shame that Tom Brady will have to humble his fans next week.

Football Wrap: Playoffs, Bowls and Perspective

Let’s start with a bowl wrap first shall we?

Rose Bowl – Oregon finally gets over the hump and wins a BCS bowl game under Chip Kelly. The Black Mamba De’Anthony Thomas showed out at home with that insane 91-yard TD run and a cruise control 68-yard run (he slowed up like it was a track meet). Big ups to Darron Thomas and LaMichael James atoning for last year.

And count me as a fan of Oregon’s Chrome Dome uniforms. It makes college football cool when a team not just gets cool unis but also wins with them.

Washington State in the 98 Rose Bowl had 2 seconds to run one last play and it didn’t work. Makes me wonder why Wisconsin didn’t just do a quick play instead of spike it. A great season for Russell Wilson and Montee “Let’s Make a Deal” Ball otherwise.

OutBack Bowl – Michigan State has been in 2 of the most thrilling games this season. Great comeback and Capt. Kirk Cousins deserves to go down in MSU lore for that.

Fiesta Bowl – Andrew Luck and Justin Blackmon had excellent auditions for the NFL but a kicker didn’t deserve to decide this game. Blackmon amazed the mess out of me with his size, elusiveness, Luck ran a brilliant 2-minute offense that he should have finished had the coach let him .

Luck reminded me of John Elway’s last game. Elway led a brilliant last minute drive to give Stanford the lead. But unfortunately Cal’s special teams ran The Play. As for Blackmon, who declared for the draft in his postgame interview, he's going to make an impact as soon as he gets called on the NFL stage. What a marvel

As for OK State, I wish they would’ve had a shot against LSU. But there’s no shame in them having a spectacular season. They have a case to be ranked No. 2 depending on what happens next Monday.

Alamo Bowl – We watched the Present and the Future. Robert Griffin the Great and his tailbacks ran ragged over Washington in maybe his final game as he helped Baylor have their best football season in ages. But Keith Price of Washington had a magical day. 7 total TD’s for the former Bellflower St. John Bosco product. 

That might have been one of the most exciting bowl games I've seen. You literally had to stay tuned otherwise you'd miss the next score because no lead was safe. By the way, this is your Pac-12 QB watch next year:

Matt Barkley (USC), Darron Thomas (Oregon), Keith Price, Matt Scott (former All-State dual-threat QB here in CA now at Arizona under Rich Rodriguez). That's a deadly 4 pack, not to mention Jordan Wynn at Utah.

I have to agree with ESPN’s Gene Wojo who tweeted his frustration about college kickers being frequently put into the role to win games. Having a money kicker is extremely important and with all the specialization going into HS kickers these days, there’s no excuse for college coaches not to offer scholarships.

There’s also no excuse why in this era of spread offenses, coaches don’t take more chances to score in the end zone instead of play for the field goal.  Especially if your quarterback is elite or on a roll.

While kickers have an easy job, coaches have a job to make it easy for them instead of arrogantly forcing them to atone for mistakes. To quote Gene Hackman in The Replacements, winners want the ball and before you give the kicker a chance, give your regular offense a chance to finish what they started if they have time.

NFL Tidbits.

Matt Flynn huh? Outdueling the Lions off the bench with the greatest day in Packers QB history huh? Shout out to the Lions possibly hurting Aaron Rodgers' MVP chances, their playoff mojo and the rep that the SEC typically produces crappy QB's.

Tampa Bay ends the year losing 10 straight.  Raheem Morris went from great coach to out of a job. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (c) Gang Starr

Scariest injury news? Ryan Clark of Pittsburgh sitting out next week’s playoff game due to a sickle cell condition. Props to Mike Tomlin doing the right thing.

Another year, both my Cowboys and Chargers are out of the playoffs and nobody to blame but themselves. The Chargers shot themselves in the foot too early and too late and the Cowboys did the same. And there’s no sign of things potentially changing in 2012 now that Norv Turner will be back as Chargers head coach and Jerry Jones is still the GM.

Pardon me while I go barf in the corner. You are what your record shows and being 8-8 says the Chargers are average despite having above average parts. The Cowboys are slightly above average but can’t be a guarantee to win big games (they have before but aren’t consistent).

Congrats to Cam Newton having the greatest NFL rookie season I’ve seen since Edgerrin James. Has anybody had a better 2-year run short of winning an professional championship? JUCO Nat’l Title, NCAA Nat’l Title, Dominated as a rookie QB in record fashion.

Killin em with a smile the way I remember another rookie doing throughout his "Magic"al career 

I don’t know which offense is scarier – Green Bay, New England or New Orleans. Since I said let’s discuss the playoffs.

Denver v. Pittsburgh. Tim Tebow backs into the playoffs and will promptly be thrown out by the wolves of Steel Town. I can’t wait!! Virgo Gumbo Pick: Pittsburgh

Detroit vs. New Orleans – As great as NO is, do NOT be surprised if Detroit opens up a shocking can because Detroit’s offense can go off in an instant. Calvin Johnson remains a difficult matchup and the Saints are still smarting from Seattle running on them. Yet if Matt Flynn destroyed Detroit, what will Brees do? VG Pick: Saints

Cincinnati vs. Houston – The surprises of the season. The patchwork Texans battling injury to reach the playoffs while Andy Dalton attempts to do his Joe Flacco/Mark Sanchez impersonation. Carson Palmer, meanwhile, has to enjoy this karma at home. VG Pick: Houston

Atlanta vs. New York – You never know which Giants team will show up. The team that beat Dallas and New England and stared Green Bay in the face or the team that sputtered down the stretch. Atlanta on the road is far more overrated despite Matt Ryan and that offense. VG Pick: Giants

Drew Brees and Tom Brady both shattered Dan Marino’s record of 5,084 yards (while Maurice Jones Drew quietly won the NFL rushing title and Rob Gronkowski destroyed several TE records.). It’s impressive once you keep it in context. Marino and Elway slung that rock in an era dominated by running backs and smaller wideouts. Brees and Brady have dominated a more pass-happy era and have excelled at their craft.

Consider this though. 10 QB’s passed for over 4,000 yards. In 1996, only 3 QB’s passed for over 4,000 yards. 10 years ago (2001 season, 02 playoffs), only 2 QB’s did it – including Kurt Warner with an insane 4,830 yards. Times have changed so you can appreciate the now while acknowledging how much more special it was in the past.

If I had to vote for MVP, give it to Aaron Rodgers. The quietest 15-1 season I’ve ever seen and remarkably efficient. His defining moment is either his 6 TD game (4 passing, 2 rushing) or his 1-minute drill against the NY Giants to win the game. 

Robert Griffin III: A Sign of Progress

Robert Griffin won the Heisman Trophy. A first for Baylor and the 5th Black QB to win the award. 

It's a big sign of progress for Black quarterbacks that Griffin not only won the Heisman but that he and Cam Newton before him are the modern QB these days. Big, strong, dual-threats with great arms, personality and character. Entering the NFL in the post-Vick/McNabb generation facing less stereotypes.

You can trace the modern evolution of how the Black QB is perceived looking at the 5 guys who won the award. Andre Ware and Charlie Ward were phenomenal quarterbacks who never got a shot to succeed in the NFL due to the times and not fitting the mold. 

In between them and Troy Smith, Tommie Frazier and Michael Vick took college by storm. Steve McNair and Donovan McNabb proved they could be dual-threat quarterbacks who could pass first and think. They followed the footsteps of James Harris, Marlon Briscoe and Doug Williams, who made bold statements in Tampa Bay and Washington.

Smith was still a victim of perception even though he won the Heisman with an overwhelming vote. He was undersized despite the fact that he proved himself and no chances were made for him. He had a few flashes in the NFL but never had much of a shot. That's more than the guy who beat him for the national title, Chris Leak, can say as Leak didn't even get drafted.

Cam Newton is standing on the shoulders of giants. The fact that his NFL career is treated like a normal hyped rookie QB and limited worries about racially coded coaching moves/language in describing him (although it still exists), is a sign of progress.

After the Bowl game he could have 40 passing TDs, 4,000 yards and 10 rush TDs. Insane. 

Robert Griffin is even more progress as the well-spoken, poised, team-oriented leader usurped a lot of the buzz from preseason favorite Andrew Luck. If you know me, you know I'm a diehard Luck supporter and believe in his gifts. I didn't think most people would be behind Griffin but here I was hearing folks all over root for him over Luck for not just the Heisman, but the No. 1 overall pick.

RG3 had a phenomenal year from Day 1 when he beat TCU and then went on to beat Oklahoma and Texas. The only Texas team they didn't beat was Texas A&M and he still had 430 yards, 3 TDs and an INT. It was more important than record, he had a better season than A. Luck. 

(I'm hoping that Tim Tebow's success paves the way for option QB's to have coaches willing to change for them but I doubt it since 1) Tebow's success is a misnomer and 2) Black QBs have typically little wiggle room anyway so why suspect one anomaly will lead to more when they never did it before.

Plus it's an insult to Griffin to say that. He's a better passer and at 6-2 (ironically the same size as Charlie Ward), he has better size to stand in the pocket. He's no option quarterback if you peep his stats above. Watch the connotations of that)

The Black quarterback has made a lot of progress. There is still plenty of work to do with the perception of them as thinkers and quarterbacks, not just athletes with super arms. There is still a belief that QB's have to fit a certain mold or type and if they look a certain way, they have to do (X, Y, and Z).

But Robert Griffin is another sign of Black quarterbacks succeeding and it being less and less of a surprise how they do it. A friend of mine said it best last year: Future Black QBs are going to want to be Cam Newton and Robert Griffin type field generals who have intelligence and skill.

It's also progess for the Baylor sports program. 10 years ago, Baylor men's basketball had a terrible scandal involving a teammate killing another teammate and his coach slandering the dead player as a drug dealer after reports indicated. Now they have the best football player AND the best female basketball player in the country AND a successful men's basketball program that can recruit elite talent.

Cheers to RG3 and here's hoping some team in the Top 10 takes him to a similar impact to Andrew Luck. Finally something good to cheer about after this strange college season.

Football Wrap Week 12: The Return of a Urban Legend

So Urban Meyer returneth eh? The man who wanted to spend time with his family, leave college FB for health issues and enjoy his ESPN gig has come back to do it all again for his first love. That’s college for ya.

First things first, I always respected Meyer. He and Pete Carroll are the best coaches of the last decade and Meyer was great at 2 schools in the BCS era. But the lionization of him came with people overshadowing his faults and the fact that if any other coach had that many arrests at one program as he did at Florida, they’d be looked at sideways.

(Case in point, Jimmy Johnson is arguably one of the greatest and smartest football coaches of the last 25 years. Yet people think of The U as a program full of Black thugs and arrogance and remember the Cowboys running wild. Meyer has somehow escaped that. )

That said, he’s going to make Ohio State dominant again, which won’t be that hard. That’s still a top-5 job in college football and he’ll bring some athletes out there.  The Big 10 won’t be as hard as the SEC so he’ll be all good.

But here's the big if - when Ohio State gets NCAA sanctions courtesy of Jim Tressel, Terrelle Pryor and Co., will Meyer will be the perfect coach to boost morale and keep folks happy? And considering he left Florida after his worst season there, he can be considered a front-runner if there ever is one. And what if his health is another factor - if Florida stressed him out, what about being home? Ask Ken Griffey Jr. how returning home to Ohio worked out. 

I hope he stays healthy. The pressure of winning at OSU will be worse than Florida or maybe Florida prepared him well. Either way, it's going to be interesting to see what happens.

NCAA Tidbits

Shoelace vs. Braxton Miller – can’t wait for Round 2 next year. Glad the Big 10 got to see some modern quarterbacking at work. Shoelace is showing that he’s a better passer and I’m excited to see what he’ll do in a bowl game. Congrats to Michigan finally beating Ohio State. 

Only Georgia stands in the way of LSU v. Alabama Round 2. But after seeing Arkansas and Auburn push up daisies this past weekend, it’s clear the SEC is super overrated this year. Just as I predicted.

Your Heisman Finalists in Virgo's Opinion: Robert Griffin III, Trent Richardson, Case Keenum. Hate to say it but Matt Barkley can finish above Andrew Luck too. It doesn’t matter because it’s no bearing on A. Luck’s NFL projections.

Speaking of which, shut up to the folks who saw Luck is overrated. I watched Stanford play several times this year and he still showed why he has great poise, size, IQ, decent speed and an incredible arm. Just because other QB’s have risen up doesn’t mean he’s overrated, it means he’s not head and shoulders above everyone by that much.

He did, however, prove, that coming back one more year means folks will dissect you more and karma will be a witch. See Sam Bradford, Matt Leinart, Jake Locker and the list goes on….

NFL Tidbits

San Diego has lost six in a row. Dallas is playing better in November. The roles have reversed since my teams faced off in 2009 when I said the Chargers are what the Cowboys should aspire to be.

Now it looks like Romo is finishing games better after he led a last minute drive to beat Miami while Phillip Rivers looks handcuffed to protect him from himself. My teams are going in reverse and while I still swear Rivers is hurt, that whole team is mentally stunted. Dallas, on the other hand, looks motivated and hungry and ready to seize the division.

It's strange. But hopefully this will lead to Norv Turner finally getting clipped. 

Houston Texans may be the best snakebit team in the league. Arian Foster, Andre Johnson, Mario Williams and now Matt Schaub have missed several games due to injury. Now Matt Leinart is on the shelf. Go figure.

Don't be upset Jason Avant, I do this to everybody. It's what I do.

Eagles are unraveling worse than the Magic Carpet when Jafar turns it into a ball of yarn in Aladdin. Tom Brady did his surgery and picked them apart like it was bird hunting season.

Props to Stevie Johnson for maturely handling the aftermath of his celebration by owning it. It was a little low but after I saw it, it was pretty funny. However, he didn’t cause his team the game with it compared to him dropping a few passes in the 4^th. But when will folks learn one play in the first half doesn’t affect a game?

Low twos also to Bob Costas and his reaction on Sunday Night Football. Reminds me of Joe Buck going crazy over Randy Moss and his fake mooning. When people defining what’s acceptable celebration, typically they overreact and 1) go off on guys who do it with style, 2) elevate certain players who keep it simple. There’s a place for both.  I’m all for hating guys who go way too overboard but at some point, we need reasonable folks to have enough influence to say lighten up.

You think they're scared of us yet? Nope? Guess we gotta keep winning and scoring with no mercy.

How is Green Bay 11-0 and still under the radar? I don’t think Denver in 1998 has this less pressure when started off 13-0 after winning the Super Bowl. They just keep winning and winning with no weaknesses and if that defense keeps playing well. Look out.

Let me give the kicker some. Shane Lechler of the Raiders had an 80-yard punt that was a thing of beauty. He just boomed it over Devin Hester’s head and Hester looked lost trying to handle it. Great stuff. 

50-0: A Downtown Beatdown for UCLA

Last month, I said UCLA hit rockbottom when they lost to Arizona after trailing 42-6 at halftime. Well now, it's officially reached lower than that after Saturday.

It all starts with the game I pretend didn’t happen because I was at a wedding. Instead of worrying about the score, I enjoyed meeting my girlfriend’s family and hearing a few jokes about when’s our wedding (Slow Down! © Brand Nubian or Chris Rock).

Of course, that didn’t happen. The last part did but of course, I had to watch the game because I had hope UCLA would at least make it respectable considering this was a difficult season. This is the only game that matters on the schedule because the city turns out in force for it.

Needless to say, the game got worse as it got longer. 1^st shutout since 2001 – Pete Carroll’s first year. Worst blowout to USC in 71 years. A 50-point beat down where UCLA looked overmatched from the jump.

It was poetic justice that UCLA wore all-White uniforms. It waved a white flag on their season and Rick Neuheisel’s coaching tenure. They didn’t bother showing up and proceeded to get embarrassed like a little brother. Since 1998, UCLA has only won once (not counting USC vacating wins in 2004 and 2005). The eight-game winning streak I enjoyed in my youth is a distant memory.

Worst of all, UCLA has only scored more than once in a game since 2007, the first year I covered the game. It’s not even a rivalry anymore – USC is recruiting better players while UCLA has barely had a decent quarterback since 1998. Sure we had Maurice Jones Drew during my college years, but it's been up and down since then.

Since I’ve been in the media, the best player UCLA recruited was current NFL rookie Rahim Moore or 2nd year man Brian Price. They recruited some great players but outside of their 2007 class, it’s been disappointing. I don't believe the players have been used well and that's all on the coaching staff.

Oh yeah, Rick Neuheisel might as well get his walking papers. He’s done and that football monopoly he said was over 4 years ago? It’s over alright. It’s now a dynasty that isn’t showing any signs of letting up. And it’ll be fitting when UCLA gets their pants waxed by Oregon next week in the Pac-12 title game. That’ll be a nice way to send off this season and Slick Rick’s tenure at Westwood (which I’ll write off for good when his firing is official)

Meanwhile, USC is back to where they were in 2002. A two-loss team playing like the best team in the conference and on an incredible roll. They have the best 1-2 WR combo in maybe the nation high school teammates George Farmer and Marqise Lee and next year will possibly add their 3^rd mate in George Farmer to go along with Curtis McNeal at tailback.

Two years on probation and they’ve been able to muster a squad that will be a national title contender or at least on par with the Pete Carroll teams post Bush-Leinart. Those penalties didn’t hurt anything. Matt Barkley is hailed as one of the best QBs in the country. Woods is one of the 5 best WRs in the country and that defense is as good as any in the Pac-12.

I’m not ready to say they’re about to go on another Pete Carroll type run but after beating Oregon, they have all the confidence in the world. I see a USC football program that’s worthy of swagger and for a UCLA fan, it’s disheartening.

This feels like 2002 all over. I remember watching the brief highlights out in San Diego and feeling sick. That team had Carson Palmer and that proved to be the team that paved the way for USC’s dominance. The only difference is that the 2011 squad won’t be going to a BCS bowl game but they are set up to return to excellence assuming Matt Barkley returns next year.

UCLA is in sad shape though. And it could possibly get sadder when Oregon in all likelihood takes us to the cleaners to get ready for their Rose Bowl tuneup. It still boggles my mind that they've backdoored their way into the title game but this is how screwy the whole conference has been.

The Battle for Los Angeles has been one-sided since I was 15. I'm 27 now. Just a reminder that my days of watching Cade McNown, Freddie Mitchell, Danny Farmer, DeShaun Foster and Robert Thomas are long in the rearview and not coming back for a long while.

The Virgo Speaketh!!! (Finally)

Time to finally put my face and voice out for you all to see. One of my goals this year was to do more video blogs and I explain in the intro why I resisted it for a while. I loved being an anonymous thinker but at some point, you need to let people see you and relate to you. I'm still going to write blogs as usual but I'm going to mix in videos as well.

Here I discuss the state of L.A. sports and why it looks as bleak as ever with no NBA, terrible NFL teams, disappointing college basketball and inconsistent college football. Looks like our hope is with Long Beach State to carry the torch after their huge upset at Pittsburgh!

Sidenote, it's disturbing that UCLA lacks great guard play and watching Casper Ware (LB State) and Cezar Guerrero (Oklahoma State) do work last night. They have let too many great LA players slip out of their backyard to shine somewhere else. On the same note, it's beautiful to see one of LA's best football players - De'Anthony Thomas - get the chance to not just shine at Oregon, but grow up as a man in a different environment from home.

Football Wrap Week 10: Return of the Wrap (and the Ducky Boys/Boise State Blues)

Took a week off from the Wrap due to the Penn State scandal and processing all the information. Everything else felt trivial and even though I had a wrap ready to go, I scrapped it. Starting fresh this week.

Raise your hands if you expected to see Oregon back in the BCS picture. Okay, maybe they weren’t totally dead but I wasn’t exactly ready to ride for them after LSU became the second SEC team to beat them in a calendar year.

But here we are, a month later and guess who’s back? The Ducky Boys after steamrolling Stanford on the road just like they did last year. Back up to No. 4 in the BCS and suddenly the Rose Bowl isn’t the only thing in their picture. I crowned them that nickname last year after they mauled Stanford so I'm bringing it back.

I’m surprised but I shouldn’t be. I should’ve remembered 2 years ago when Oregon lost to Boise State in their season opener and still wound up in the Rose Bowl. Their strength is getting better as the season goes on and wearing down teams with their speed as their offense clicks into gear. The Pac-10 hasn’t been able to stop them and it’s to their credit that they aren’t afraid to play anybody.

Oregon hosts USC, ranked No. 18 but somehow not in the BCS Top 25 and their Civil War game with Oregon State. Then there’s the Pac-12 title game vs. Arizona State or UCLA. Arizona State just lost to Washington State so there’s a good chance they could lose to Arizona or Cal. Meanwhile, my Bruins only have to win one to get into the Pac-12 game, which I still can’t fathom.

Anyways, Oregon could face SC, Oregon State or UCLA. Not a strong schedule. Let’s compare to Alabama and Oklahoma State.

OK State’s schedule = Iowa State, home vs. Oklahoma minus Ryan Broyles and a couple others. Blast you, Big 12 for no title game. Cowboys could win out without a problem.

Alabama’s schedule = Georgia Southern and the Iron Bowl with Auburn.  Alabama’s hungry to avenge last year’s Iron Bowl so I like their chances to win out a bit more than OK State.

Of course, the trap could be if Oklahoma wins and leapfrogs everybody. Not to mention if LSU somehow finds a way to lose to Arkansas, which I doubt. But I’m playing it safe and just assuming LSU is straight while 2-4 could be shaken up.

I’m not opposed to rematch games because if a team loses early, they should be able to get another crack at the title. And if the 2 best teams already faced each other, let’s do it again like Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby. Yet my problem is if a team loses in the final month yet somehow leapfrogs teams who win out, even if the game was pretty even.

So Oregon has a tough road back still but it’s not entirely impossible. Now all they need to do is actually win a BCS Bowl Game since Ohio State and Auburn got em....

Quick NCAA Tidbits

1. Boise State – Barely an hour or so after Georgia helped their cause with a win, the Broncos saw déjà vu. Dan Goodale, meet Kyle Brotzman, he’ll be escorting you to your new home in Witness Protection. (To be fair, Boise State’s been shaky all year and I could see where Kellen Moore missed having some help at WR)

Speaking of Deja Vu, I had dang near the same pic of K. Moore on the blog last year after the loss.

2. Kansas State sure loves drama – last week vs. OSU and this week, 4 OT vs. A&M. At least they won this time.

3. Robert Griffin The Great strikes again – a 4^th quarter, 21-point comeback. Not bad for the Baylor legend.

Virgo’s Top 10: 1) LSU, 2) Oklahoma State, 3) Oregon 4) Alabama, 5) Arkansas, 6) Oklahoma, 7) Clemson 8) Stanford, 9) Virginia Tech, 10) Houston

NFL Top 5

1. It can be the Super Bowl, it can be regular season but to paraphrase Chris Berman, nobody….circles the Buffalo Bills like the Dallas Cowboys. How’d that Beat Em Down taste!!!! Only thing Buffalo did right was Nelson giving his touchdown ball to his girlfriend, a Cowboys cheerleader. Dallas stayed winning on and off the field.

Don Juan DeMarco almost looks a lil like Emmitt Smith right here. 

2. San Francisco had their national test and passed it. They stopped Eli Manning on a 4^th quarter drive. One more reason why I have faith in them and Jim Harbaugh is your Coach of the Year. (Speaking of surprises, anybody notice Buffalo and Detroit are coming back to Earth hard?)

3. So what’s more shocking: Kansas City couldn’t beat a Denver team that threw only 8 passes? Or Baltimore airing it out and only letting Ray Rice rush 5 times. Embarrassing and stupid and before you cue the Tim Tebow praise, read Kordell Stewart airing out some truth. 

4. Tom Brady can’t beat Mark Sanchez in the postseason but he can definitely embarrass him in the regular season. But is Rob Gronkowski about to be the NFL’s best tight end now? He’s definitely Top 3 at this point.

5. As somebody pointed out, we haven’t had too many great nationally televised games since that New Orleans-Green Bay opener. Mainly I think because there aren’t more than 6 great teams. Green Bay, San Francisco, New England, Houston, Chicago and New Orleans and maybe Pittsburgh at 7.

If you can tell me the 3^rd best team in the AFC with a straight face, go ahead. Houston’s a sleeper cause they have the best 1-2 RB combo in the league. But everyone else is potentially shaky. The NFC’s definitely top heavy but shaky as well.

I’m wondering if this has anything to do with the lockout and of course it does. There’s enough evidence to see that certain teams aren’t sharp and the best teams just happen to be able to mask it better than most. Let’s call it lockout parity – parity created by lack of practice and conditioning. We’ll see what happens after a month from now.

Finally some closing words on Penn State, after which I will say no more on here until recapping it in my Year in Review. I was burned out on the coverage because I’ve been discussing this for over a week while some have been on it since Tuesday. But as the details unfolded and things happened, I realized something.

The ultimate danger in this story is that when a brand or entity becomes important, protecting it at all costs trumps common sense. This applies to celebrities as well as sports and we had a failure here of administrative levels only comparable to the SMU pay-for-play scandal and still worse.

For once, a major sports scandal has nothing to do with players and I hope they and the student body persevere yet realize they can be great by rallying around each other and the victims. They can be great by stepping up where older adults did not and I in turn will not judge the whole body by a few idiots who I know litter every college campus.

Joe Paterno’s legacy takes a huge hit yet I won’t demonize him nor have I. He has to live with what he didn’t do enough of for 9 years. Same with Mike McQueary, who will probably be resigning at some point under pressure. Living with guilt sometimes is just as bad as anything criminal, ask Arthur Dimmesdale from my favorite novel.

I’ve been extra sensitive being around my kids lately at Sylvan and church. I look out for them even more now because should something happen to them, I’d risk my career to save them or never forgive myself.

One can hope that the victims of this tragedy will find some closure in Jerry Sandusky’s eventual conviction. One can hope that like Barack Obama said, we all do some soul searching, As more information comes out, I also hope we continue to see good, thorough reporting to make sure something well fleshed out for the record.