College Football Preview Part Two: SEC

By Ben Linton

The Southeastern Conference is arguably the best conference year after year, and why? Defense. Every single SEC team was ranked in the Top 40 in total defense, except for Arkansas (72). You know what they say, defense wins championships. Speaking of which, Florida has two in the past five years. Can they make it three? I believe so.

Projected Standings:

SEC East

Florida

Georgia

Tennessee

South Carolina

Vanderbilt

Kentucky

SEC West

Mississippi

LSU

Alabama

Arkansas

Auburn

Mississippi State

SEC Championship: Florida over Ole Miss

Could Tim Tebow cement his place in College Football history with 2 Heisman Trophies and 3 National Championships in his career?

Bold Predictions:

Florida will beat Tennessee by 50 points

After blaming Florida for committin recruiting violations, labeling them cheaters, Lane Kiffin and his Volunteers can expect a cold reception in Gainesville on September 19th. Its not a matter of if the Gators will win, its by how much. Lane Kiffin will have a good team , but he will take his lumps this year in the SEC, especially from the defending National Champs.

Ole Miss will win the SEC West in Houston Nutt’s second year as Head Coach

This is a tricky prediction. Last year, Ole Miss shocked the world and beat Florida 31-30 en route to a 9-4 record. Then they stifled Texas Tech’s spread offense in the Cotton Bowl to cap off an amazing season. And the Rebels aren’t done yet. They get a break by not having to play Florida, and their two key conference games (LSU and Alabama) are at home. It all sets up nicely for Mississippi’s first SEC West Title. The only difference is this year, the Rebels won’t sneak up on everyone lke they did last year. Teams will be gunning for them, and who knows if they can handle that pressure.

Key Games:

Florida at LSU, October 10th

This is the only chance the Gators have at losing in the regular season. Baton Rouge is always a tough venue to play, and the Tigers are no pushover either. Gators Quarterback Tim Tebow has never won in Baton Rouge, so you think that’s enough motivation?

Alabama at Mississippi, October 10th

All the games between Alabama, Mississippi, and LSU will decide who makes it to Atlanta for the SEC Championship. Alabama won 24-20 last year in Tuscaloosa, but has to replace Quarterback John Parker Wilson and Running Back Glen Coffee

LSU at Alabama, November 7th

Part two of determining the SEC West Champion will happen in Tuscaloosa when the Bayou Bengals come to town. In a budding new rivalry, Nick Saban will try to baet his former team like he did last year 27-21.

LSU at Mississippi, November 21st

This game could very well decide who wins the SEC West. Mississippi Quarterback Jevon Snead will lead his troops against a stingy LSU defense. Its in these games where playmakers like Dexter McCluster for Ole Miss and LSU’s Trindon Holliday can make all the difference.

Ole Miss QB Jevon Snead will lead the Rebels to the SEC Championship

That’s all for the SEC, hope you enjoyed it. Check back tomorrow for the Big 12.

Preview Archive:

ACC

NFL Recievers…Shaking My Head

By Jesse Jones

Here’s a question for all you NFL junkies: Why are so many wide receivers in the NFL trouble makers? I recently had a post about Brandon Marshall and his childish ways, but after recent news today from Chad Ochocinco (fined for wearing an orange chinstrap), I have just really started to think about who is specifically getting fined by the NFL and Roger Goodell.

1. Chad Ochocinco
2. Brandon Marshall
3. Terrell Owens
4. Plaxico Burress

Most of the time you hear these players’ names, it isn’t for any humbling award. Ochocinco is extremely cocky and thinks he can do whatever he wants, like tweet at all times. Everybody knows about Brandon Marshall trying to baby his way out, similar to Jay Cutler, and Terrell Owens just seems to ruin chemistry for his team after about a year and a half. And Plaxico Burress….what more to say? Just bad judgement.

So why is it that all these players happen to be receivers? I just simply do not know. Please help me answer that question!!

College Football Preview: ACC

All roads lead to Tampa Bay

By Ben Linton

On Saturday, September 5th, most college football teams in the nation will take the field for the first time to kick off what should be an exciting season. To get everybody’s juices flowing and pumped up for the season, All Metro Sports World will preview each major conference before kickoff weekend. I will give my projected final standings for each conference, give bold predictions, and name key games to watch in the 08-09 season. First, lets take a look at the ACC.

Projected Order of Finish:

Atlantic

NC State
Florida State
Maryland
Clemson
Wake Forest
Boston College

Coastal

Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
Miami
Duke
Virginia

ACC Championship: Virginia Tech over NC State

Tyrod Taylor will lead the Hokies to an ACC Title

Bold Predictions:

Florida State will not win the ACC Atlantic Divison
Every year magazines hype up the Seminoles and predict them to win the Atlantic, only to be dissapointed. But I’m not falling for that. The Noles have tough non-conference schedule games against Florida, BYU, and South Florida, and have to travel to Wake Forest, Clemson, and North Carolina. I’ll take the sleeper in the division, North Carolina State. Quarterback Russel Wilson is truly an amazing player that I think can take the Wolfpack all the way, even if he is just a sophomore.

The loss of Darren Evans gives Virginia Tech no chance in the season opener against Alabama.
I would have picked the Hokies if not for the loss of their tailback Evans, who rushed for 1,265 yards and 11 TDs as a freshman last year. Alabama is too strong up front and will be able to put pressure on Tyrod Taylor. The Hokies may not be able to overcome the loss of Evans in this game, but in the long run they will be okay.

This will not be the year Miami returns to greatness.
I’ll admit, Miami is loaded with talent and Quarterback Jacory Harris was very promising in the Emerald Bowl against California. But the schedule is intense, they open at Florida State, then hose Georgia Tech, visit Virginia Tech, then host Oklahoma to start the season. Where was Miami’s AD when they made this schedule? This is absolutley brutal.

Key Games:

Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech
October 17th will be a showdown in Atlanta, and could ultimately decide who wins the Coastal Division. This will be a mid-season game, so VT’s always strong defense will only have eight days to prepare for GT’s triple option offense.

NC State at Florida State
This October 31st battle could also ultimately decide who makes it to Tampa Bay for the ACC Championship. FSU’s inconsistent defense that has issues up front and in the secondary could have problems with the dual-threat NC State Quarterback Russel Wilson. NC State will have to be able to get pressure on FSU Quarterback Christian Ponder and FSU’s tough offensive line that returns all five starters and returns five of seven players on the defensive front to do so.

Clemson at Maryland
The ACC-home opener will be very important for Maryland. The Terps will likely be 3-1 heading into the contest, and with a win, they could gain momentum heading into the next three games, which are all winable (@Wake, UVA, @Duke). But if the Terps lose, they may have even have trouble making a bowl, because the first three games in Novemeber are @NC State, Virginia Tech, and @ Florida State in that order. A must-win for the Terps. Clemson’s strong defensive front could give the young Terps O-Line trouble.

Maryland Quarterback Chris Turner will need to be more consistent for the Terps to compete in the ACC

Well, that’s it. Check back tomorrow for an SEC preview.

Out For Preseason??

By Jesse Jones

Right when I turned my TV on this morning, I learned that Brandon Marshall has been suspended for the rest of preseason.  Why is that?!  Because he “goofed off” at the beginning of practice yesterday.

I can understand a punishment for this, like a fine, but to be suspended for the rest of preseason might just be a little over the top.  Denver, Brandon Marshall does not even want to play for your team and he has expressed that numerous times throughout the offseason.  You think this will help?  You might as well trade him anyways since you aren’t going to play him.  Really, you are just hurting your team and your fan base.  Good luck this season though….

Just Like Us

By Jesse Jones

So as some of you may know, I’m a pretty big UStream fan.  For those who do not know what that is, it’s basically a broadcasting website where you can broadcast live, and have people watch your “show”.  There’s a live chat so you can see what people are saying and talk back.  I haven’t personally done a”show” yet, but I watch famous athletes’, such as Chad Ochocinco and the person I’m going to write about now, Rudy Gay.

I haven’t really been the biggest Rudy Gay fan, but after last night I most likely will follow him a lot more.  I used to follow him on Twitter simply because of the fact that he’s from Baltimore, but now I might have to check his tweets more often.  For those who watched his “show” last night, you got to see what he’s really like.  He gave everyone a look around his house in Las Vegas, some of his shoes, and just was talking to everyone in the chat (including myself).

He was even prank calling people (Mike Conley’s ringback tone was a girl pop song…smh).  And then, he started rapping over a Gucci Mane song.  He wasn’t horrible or anything, and definitely better than Gucci, but not something I’d listen to on the reg…no offense if you somehow ever read this.

To sum everything up, I just wanted to do this post to show that even though some people are in an adult world, they can still have fun and relate to some teens.  If you ever want to see if he’s broadcasting, search him on Twitter at RudyGay22 or on UStream at RudyTV.

Thoughts on Plaxico Burress

By Ben Linton

^Those were the glory days for Plaxico Burress. A Game-Winning Touchdown in Super Bowl XLII to beat the greatest team in the NFL this decade. Now, Friday Novemeber 8th, 2008 will forever plague Burress due to his poor judgement. In a Manhattan night club, Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg. He was walking up the steps to the VIP room and missed a step, causing the gun to slip, and so Burress reached for it to stop it from falling to the ground. As Burress calls it “I don’t think you could do it in a million times,” his finger lands on the trigger when he goes to stop his gun. “What are the odds?” Burress explains. He immediately told teammate Antonio Pierce to take him to the hospital. Now Burress is facing two years in prison for attempted criminal possession of a weapon.

I feel sympathetic to Burress but also feel that he self destructed his own demise. One thing that raised my eyebrows when watching his interview with Jeremy Schad was that Burress did not have a holster. This makes me question: “Was he planning to shoot someone?” or “Was he afraid that someone would attack him?” or could have it just been misjudgement, which most likely is the case here. Burress also didn’t know the gun laws in New York, which was another mishap on his part. However, Burress does have a reason to feel the need to carry a weapon. As a professional athlete, many are targets to robberies, which has happened to Burress twice. In 2007, Redskins Safety Sean Taylor was murdered when a burglar shot him in his home. So I can understand why athletes feel the need to protect themselves. Maybe it was bad luck, maybe it was bad judgement, maybe it was both combined. But whatever it is, it will haunt Plaxico Burress for the rest of his career and life.

Don’t Mess With These Guys…

By Jesse Jones

I do not even understand how all this broke out…this is crazy!!!

Ex-Terp Hill Is The Go-To Guy

By Ben Linton

Ex-Maryland Quarterback Shaun Hill was named the starter for the San Francisco 49ers today. He beat out former number one pick Alex Smith, who has so far in his career become a bust. Hill started eight games for the Niners last season, throwing for 2,046 yards with 13 TDs and 8 INTs. Hill has not done anything special in preseason thus far, but Smith has pretty much played himself out of a starting job by throwing interceptions. Hill will be hooking up with another former Terp, Tight End Vernon Davis, to try to bring winning back to the bay area.

Shaun Hill was a great quarterback at Maryland. He lead the Terps to a 10-1 record, ACC title, and Orange Bowl berth. I’m really glad to see that he is getting a chance to prove what he can do in the NFL. He may not have the best throwing motion or arm strength, but he is a natural born leader and plays the game with enthusiasm and intensity, just like his coach Mike Singletary. If he can get Wide Reciever Michael Crabtree to finally ink a deal, look for the 49ers to make some noise in the NFC West this season.

Jerry Jones FAIL!

By Jesse Jones

Okay, seriously this just cracks me up.  The other day in warm-ups of the Titans vs Cowboys game, Titans backup punter A.J. Trapasso was hitting the big screen in the middle of the new Cowboys’ stadium.  Then, when the punts actually mattered, he did it again!  Not only did the backup punter hit the screen, but the starting punter Hentrich also hit the screen during warm-ups.  I would say if it happened once that this was a fluke, but it happened numerous times.

I mean, how funny does this get?!  Jerry Jones spent millions having this enormous, state-of-the-art stadium for his franchise, and he gets something wrong!!!  And then he goes and tries to say that the punters were aiming for the screen.  Why would you ruin a punt when you are fighting to become the starter??  Come on Jerry, think!  Looks like you might just have to spend a few more thousands to get the screen lifted…whoops!

Somebody just needs to put this on the FAIL Blog on YouTube or something because this is just great.

Vasquez On The Map

By Jesse Jones

Maryland Terrapins  Senior point guard Greivis Vasquez has been nominated for the John Wooden Award, college basketball’s player of the year.  It pretty much explains itself.  Greivis has been clutch for the Terps and the team revolves around him.  He is clearly one of the best guards in the ACC, and now he is getting national recognition.

One of his best games in his three year career happened last season against the North Carolina Tar Heels.  After getting blown out in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels came to College Park to try to sweep the Terps.  However, Vasquez did not let that happen as he put up a triple-double (35 pts, 11 rebounds, 10 assists), the first triple-double for the Terps since 1987.

Watch out for Vasquez this season, as well as the Maryland Terrapins in general.