Well Hi everybody once again, sorry about the delay between blog posts, but now with football season and the baseball playoffs upon us, one can be assured that I will make my posts more frequently.
Since the last time I wrote to you, not too much has changed in the sports world. The biggest thing probably has been Michael Vick pleading guilty, but I do not think that was a shock to anyone. The irony to this whole situation is in an ESPN interview a few years back, he mentioned that one of the three things people do not know about him is that he loves animals. As a person trying to make ends meet, it is really sad to see someone with so much money, talent and fame blow it all over a horrific thing such as dog fighting. As mentioned in my previous blog, it will be interesting to see what his future is. Since his sentencing isn't until December 10th, which happens to be the same day the Falcons play the Saints on Monday Night Football, it is most likely that he will have to miss 2 full seasons in the NFL. With that being said, I do not know if any team would have the guts to go through the PR fiasco of trying to sign Vick when he gets out of prison.
Moving on to a lighter topic and a personal favorite of mine. Today marks the first day of the college football season. The potential BCS National Title team LSU Tigers are planned to square off tonight against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, MS, in an early SEC showdown. Now I do not think this will be a great game by any means since LSU is far superior in talent than MSU, but none of the less it marks the beginning of college football, which is one of my favorite sports. This weekend however does indeed have a fair share of good games, despite the fact that many teams play far lesser opponents, such as the defending national champion Florida Gators taking on the Hilltoppers of the power house Western Kentucky. Despite the many lopsided match ups, there will still be some very good games.
My top 5 games of the weekend, if you want to watch are:
Tennessee at Cal
Georgia Tech at Notre Dame
Oklahoma State at Georgia
Florida State at Clemson
Wake Forest at Boston College
Obviously people are going to think I am biased with the Boston College pick, but I think it should be one of the more interesting games of the weekend. BC and Wake over the past four years have had many close games. Wake comes into this weekend as the reigning ACC champs, while BC plays its first game with new head coach Jeff Jagodzinski. And remember folks that you can't spell Jagodzinski, with out "God."
As a BC alum, I always want my Eagles to do well, but as I look at the schedule it does appear to be very tough. Having to go to Ga Tech, ND, Va Tech, Clemson, and Maryland is going to be very tough. I will say though that one should know very early on what type of team BC has, since they have to play 3 ACC games to begin the season. As I look at the schedule, many of the games could go either way. The only real guarantee victories are Army, Umass and Bowling Green, and the only game I think they are for sure going to lose is at Virginia Tech, who I think will be much better this year. Coach Jags has brought some much needed enthusiasm to the program, and it looks like it has rubbed off on many of the players. Also, Offensive Coordinator Steve Logan, the former East Carolina coach when they had Jeff Blake and David Gerrard, runs a very exciting offense. I am very excited for this season not just for BC, but for college football in general.
Below you will now see my predictions for each conference and who I think will win the Heisman trophy:
ACC: Virginia Tech
Big East: West Virginia
SEC: LSU
Big 12: Texas
Pac 10: USC
Big 10: Wisconsin
BCS National Title Game: USC over LSU
Heisman Trophy winner: Darren McFadden of Arkansas.
Now for my final topic, being my beloved Red Sox. The Sox bats were about as hot as they have ever been in team history this past weekend, when they went 4 straight games of scoring 10 runs or more, as they swept the now quickly declining Chicago White Sox. However, as I write this they are on the brink of being swept by the Yankees, which if all holds up, will bring the Yankees to within 5 games. Despite this minor setback in the Bronx, I still do not think the Sox will blow the lead to the Yanks, and I think they should hold up to win the AL East. They have a very favorable schedule down the stretch, and do not have any significant road trips left. The only real disappointments as of late for the Sox have been Eric Gagne who cannot hold a lead for the life of him, and the batting of JD Drew.
As for other races going on in the majors, the Phighting Phillies are slowly but surly creeping up on the Mets, and the NL Central looks to have a very exciting month as the Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals continue to battle for first place. As usual the month of September should be exciting as these divisional and wild card races continue to heat up.
Well that's about it, I hope you enjoyed this edition of Boyce's Weekly Rant, and I will talk to you early next week with my thoughts on this past weekend's college football and I will preview the NFL. Until then Godspeed.
Sir Boyce
