NFL Game Day

SCHEDULE
Sunday, Dec. 28
St. Louis at Atlanta 12 p.m.
Jacksonville at Baltimore 12 p.m.
New England at Buffalo 12 p.m.
Kansas City at Cincinnati 12 p.m.
Detroit at Green Bay 12 p.m.
Chicago at Houston 12 p.m.
Tennessee at Indianapolis 12 p.m.
New York Giants at Minnesota 12 p.m.
Carolina at New Orleans 12 p.m.
Miami at New York Jets 12 p.m.
Dallas at Philadelphia 12 p.m.
Cleveland at Pittsburgh 12 p.m.
Oakland at Tampa Bay 12 p.m.
Seattle at Arizona 3:15 p.m.
Denver at San Diego 3:15 p.m.
Washington at San Francisco 3:15 p.m.

FANTASY FORECAST
by Brent Antisdel and by Jared Curtis

Well it’s been a great fantasy season. It’s hard to tell who to draft and how their season will play out, so it’s always frustrating when one of your first few picks (Tom Brady) goes down. But with tragedy comes triumph, and anyone who lost Brady but picked up Matt Cassel didn’t lose too many points over the season. A lot of rookies had stellar seasons, and even a few veterans dusted off the pads and made a remarkable difference in their team’s play. Over the past 16 weeks, BA “I Pity the Fool” Antisdel and myself (Dirty JC) have given you players to start, sit and some surprising sleepers. And with the Fantasy season wrapping up, we thought we would each give you our picks for the best player to start, the worst player you have to sit and a sleeper to snag in next year’s draft. It’s been a great season, and thanks for reading!

Dirty JC

Best Player to Start
Thomas Jones (RB – New York Jets). Welcome back Mr. Jones! After a mediocre 2007 season, you returned like a beast. I’m sure it helped adding a hall of fame quarterback to your team. But with more than 1,200 yards rushing and 13 TDs (before week 17), you surpassed all expectations. I snagged you with my third-round pick and what a steal it was. Thanks for the great season, and although I think your age will catch up to you next season, I’ll take the chance.

Worst Player to Sit
Braylon Edwards (WR – Cleveland Browns). And with the fourth pick of my draft I chose Braylon Edwards. “What a steal I thought, he is the premier young receiver,” but boy was I wrong. Leading the NFL in dropped passes, you couldn’t have played any worse. Edwards scored in double digits only once this season, and the stats don’t lie. With only 50 catches and three TDs, you were terrible. Now I can’t wait to pass on you next season and watch you become Brady Quinn’s favorite and most reliable target.

Best Sleeper
Matt Forte (RB – Chicago Bears). “Matt who?” I scoffed as someone else in my league picked up the rookie Bears running back. “I don’t even know who that is,” I spouted off. “You will,” jabbed back my friend. He was right. Forte led the Bears offense this season with more than 1,100 yards rushing and seven TDs (before week 17). But he didn’t stop there. Add in more than 50 receptions and four receiving TDs, and that spells success. The kid only fumbled once the entire season and will be a top pick in next year’s draft. Sorry for doubting you, Forte, and thanks for making me eat crow.

BA ”I Pity the Fool” Antisdel

Best Player to Start
Chad Pennington (QB-Miami Dolphins). If you cannot tell, Miami versus the New York Jets is the game of the NFL regular season. Who would have thought this game had so much meaning at the beginning of the season. Pennington has looked good and been the catalyst to the Dolphin’s season with more than 3,200 yards passing (better than Brett Favre), 14 TDs and only six interceptions (better than Favre). So it’s safe to say, Pennington has finally become the quarterback everyone thought he was.

Worst Player to Sit
Terrell “TO” Owens (WR-Dallas Cowboys). Well TO, apparently that’s NOT your quarterback, man. Remember a teary-eyed TO saying the exact opposite about Romo last year? So do I, which is why I’m not totally shocked that TO has allegedly changed his tune once again. Although he has shined in season’s past, Owens is the 21st ranked receiver in the league with only 58 receptions, 886 yards receiving and nine TDs (before week 17). Owens is really good, but once he starts pouting, his team’s and his production head downhill. And the Cowboys are already losing their footing.

BA-Best Sleeper
Warrick Dunn(RB-Tampa Bay Bucs). He is the “Good Guy” story in the NFL year after year, and deservedly so with his help building homes in his community for low income families. He gives back more than anyone else in the league, so I think he’ll have a little karma on his team’s side. Dunn’s production has clearly fallen off as he has gotten up in age, but he has more than 700 yards rushing with two TDs (before week 17) and more than 300 yards receiving (while sharing the job with Earnest Graham), which makes this old veteran worthy of the sleeper title. CV

NCAA GAME DAY HEAD-TO-HEAD

Bowl Games
by Darren Tromblay

Outback Bowl
South Carolina (7-5) vs. Iowa (8-4)
Jan. 1, 10 a.m., Tampa, Fla.

South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier once knew the sweet taste of victory. After all, this was the man who led Florida to 122 wins in 12 years, including a national title in 1996. Then he got Gamecocky in 2002 and jumped into the bigger pond — the NFL — where he was promptly taken out back and beaten like an incontinent dog with five legs and an ear infection. His 28-21 record since he returned to the college game is proof that the Spurrier magic is gone. Enter the Hawkeyes, winners of five of six, and boasting the best tailback in the nation in Shonn Greene. After an auspicious start, the Hawks have rebounded nicely, and are, dare Game Day say it, truly a Top 25 team. Both teams have defenses ranked in the top 12 in the nation, but it’s the Gamecocks who are struggling right now. And they have a quarterback named Smelley. Stinks to be them.
Iowa 24, South Carolina 13

Rose Bowl
#5 USC (11-1) vs. #8 Penn State (11-1)
Jan. 1, 3:30 p.m.,
Pasadena, Calif.

Here we go again. This crap of USC not only bagging another premium bowl game, but getting to play it at home, too, is sickening. As if they need the help. Last Game Day checked, bowl games are played on neutral sites. This travesty sucks more than three Ronnie Harmon fumbles and a Jake Christensen pass. But, the games will go on. Joe Paterno and his Nittany Lions will have to find a crack in the Trojan defensive armor to stand any kind of a chance. Problem is, USC boasts a defense that has given up the fewest points (7.6) and yards (206) per game in the nation. Karma is against the Coke bottled guru, too, as USC has had its way with its last eight Big 10 opponents, bludgeoning each by an average of 25 points. The 127-year-old Joe Pa enjoys being a grandpa, but this Granddaddy will have him wishing for onset Alzheimer’s.

USC 27, Penn State 21
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
# 3 Texas (11-1) vs. #10 Ohio State (10-2)
Jan. 5, 7 p.m., Glendale, Ariz.

Is there a bigger crybaby in football than Texas coach Mack Brown? Yes, Mack, we understand that you may have gotten the shaft in not getting a shot in the national title game. Again. Waaaa. Here in these parts, it’s puddin’-near been a couple of generations since Iowa State’s last win, let alone bowl berth. In other words, shut yer piehole there, pardner. We ain’t feelin’ yer pain. But we do like yous matchup against Ohio State in this here Fiesta Bowl thingy, though. Them Buckeyes hasn’t looked that dang impressive in recent BCS games, if our memories serve us proper-like. And ya have that straight-shootin’ quarterback Colt McCoy, who looks as comfortable as a campfire and grandpa’s fiddle in running yer offense. No disrespect, Mr. Tressel. Yer Buckeyes, well, they’d be a mighty fine bunch, too, don’t get us wrong. But Mack and his boys, well, they got a fire in them bellies of theirs. Best head back to the horseshoe while ya can.
Texas 31, Ohio State 20

FedEx BCS National Championship
#1 Oklahoma (12-1) vs. #2 Florida (12-1)
Jan. 8, 7 p.m., Miami, Fla.

For once, the computer got it right. The BCS championship game will, indeed, match up the two best teams in the country — in our opinion, of course — in top-ranked Oklahoma and No. 2 Florida. Stat-wise, it’s a dead heat. Offensively, there will be basketball games with fewer total points. Oklahoma and Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford averaged 54 points per game this season. Florida, behind Heisman runner-up quarterback Tim Tebow, punished scoreboards for an average of 45 per outing, while giving up just over 12 per game defensively, half that of Oklahoma. Is that, and playing in their back yard, enough to stop the Sooners? Almost.
Oklahoma 39, Florida 38

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