Super Bowl
Workers install the "Cradle of Champions" sculpture at Sundance Square in Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011, in preparation for NFL football's Super Bowl XLV. The sculpture has more than 2,000 names of NFL players who played high school football in Texas from 1911 to the present. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Michael Ainsworth)The Super Bowl is next month. We will discuss it daily between now and then of course, because, well, it's the Super Bowl.
First some NFL house cleaning:
- Now everyone has Jay Cutler's back, and that's great. Or it's not. Or it is. Whatever, let's all agree to move on. Deal? Great.
- Did you see the story about the Chicago car dealer who was fired for wearing a green-yellow Packers tie to work Monday? Something tells me dude is going to get an apology and his job back. Or maybe he'll contact a lawyer and after the dust settles there will be a PACKERS RULE car dealership that's under new ownership somewhere in suburban Chicago.
- Chad Ochocinco is changing his name back to Chad Johnson. Not really sure what to say here. Uh, OK, Chad, thanks for including us, and in tribute, we're going to be the Cinco-a-Diez for the rest of the day.
Anyhoo, let's move on to the Super Bowl.
Fans of the show know the Cinco-a-Diez is fascinated by the betting world surrounding sports. The Super Bowl is the Mona Lisa of the gambling world. We'll cover this sometime next week, but just know there is no bet too outlandish for the Super Bowl. Want to bet on the coin flip? Great. Want to bet on who scores first? Fine. Want to bet which total will be higher, Aaron Rodgers' passing yards or Tiger Woods' total golf strokes in next week's tournament? It can be worked out. Seriously.
The Packers opened as a 2.5-point favorite, which means that if you bet on the Packers, you need them to win by three points to collect.
Now this does not necessarily mean the super-smart fellows that set the point spreads think the Packers are great and the Steelers stink. The No. 1 goal of every point spread is to create equal amounts of bets on each team, that way there is no way the house loses. For example, if there is a $10 million bet on the Packers and a $10 million bet on the Steelers, then the house will make $1 million regardless of the outcome. (Bookies and casinos collect 10 percent of losing bets - it's called juice or the vig, and it's, you know, a little something for their trouble.)
Recruiting
UT coach Derek Dooley talks to the press.The last four coaches to win national championships were at last year's SEC media days. You know this.
Know what else they had in common? Their second recruiting classes were monsters.
Urban Meyer, Les Miles, Nick Saban and Gene Chizik each pulled top-5 nationally ranked recruiting classes going into their second seasons on the sideline that served as a foundation for the title teams.
Saban's monster class in 2008 was head-turning, as was Chizik's this time last year.
This not-so-little coincidence forced the Cinco-a-Diez to investigate (stop laughing) this year's current recruiting classes to see if there's any program doing a similar job in year 2 of the regime.
Well, Derek Dooley's class is improving almost daily - Marlin Lane was a big-time addition - and could close as strong a class in the country with Cameron Clear, Gabe Wright and Antonio Richardson still in play for the Vols.
But the class that fits the bill is in Tallahassee, where after a 10-4 record in his first season with Florida State, Jimbo Fisher is putting together what looks to be the top-ranked recruiting class in the country. Plus, with the question marks around the traditionally top ACC programs - Miami has a new coach, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are rebuilding, Clemson went 6-7 last year and one of the best defensive players in the country - FSU has a springboard toward a possible title run.
College hoops, SEC style
Speaking of big fish in a little pond, how about that SEC basketball, huh? To be fair, the Cinco-a-Diez was stunned at the level of play in Florida's impressive 104-91 double-overtime win at Georgia. It was fun to watch; Trey Thompkins hit a buzzer-beater to get the Bulldogs into overtime, and Erving Walker hit a 35-footer to force the second overtime.
The action was crisp and the offense was surprisingly efficient (each team shot better than 45 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range).
For the first half of the season, the Cinco-a-Diez thought being the best basketball team in the SEC was akin to being world's tallest pygmy. Well, consider our eyes opened - at least regarding the SEC East. The SEC West is still brutal.
NCAA tournament briefing No. 2
Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl signals to his team during the first half of his team's 72-61 loss to No. 8 Connecticut in their NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)Cue the ultra-cheesy Brent Musberger lead-in voice:
"YOU are looking LIVE, at Thompson-Boling Arena, the home of the Tennessee Vols. Tonight, no Bruce Pearl. Tonight, no margin for error."
That's right Vols fans, tonight's game is back in the SEC, and that means Pearl will have to watch on TV as he hits the second half of his SEC-issued eight game suspension.
That said, the Vols' season is hanging in the balance right now with LSU visiting tonight. Two huge SEC wins over Vandy and Georgia evened UT's SEC record at 2-2.
The Vols have to start crafting an NCAA resume, and with super-impressive wins over Villanova and Pittsburgh in the season's first six weeks, the foundation is there. UT is 12-7 and has an impressive RPI of 18 thanks in large part to having the top strength of schedule rating. But games like tonight's - against an LSU team that is 10-9 and has an RPI of 181 - have to be wins. There is little room left for head-scratching losses.
Two other NCAA tournament tidbits:
- Wow did top-ranked Ohio State look awesome last night or what? The Buckeyes humbled No. 12-ranked Purdue. Something tells the Cinco-a-Diez that the Buckeyes will struggle Saturday at Northwestern.
- BYU visits San Diego State tonight, and this is a must-watch game. According to the Real Time RPI rankings, BYU is No. 1 and San Diego State is No. 4. The Cinco-a-Diez realizes this sounds like a high-scoring football game in the late 1980s, but trust us. Your bracket will thank us in March.
Nadal is done Down Under
It's already tough enough to get jazzed about the Australian Open, what with the juggled schedules and seemingly every American player bounced before the tennis balls got dirty.
Now that Cinco-a-Diez favorite Raffy Nadal - who was beaten in straight sets to end his winning streak at 25 matches in major tournaments - is done, well, so are we.
Until tomorrow.