I had the luck of being a college athlete and enjoyed everything that it brought.  The person who wrote before me was a professional athlete and has to be admired for the committment that was made to get to that level.  I am very outspoken about certain products that helped me achieve success and I wanted to take the time to write about some of the products that I used in the past and some that I use today.

Understand that I was a typical 3 sport high school athlete in baseball, basketball and football and was recruited in all 3.  I ended up signing a National Letter of Intent to play at the University of Utah for Coach Majerus.  I could fill a blog with stories from that man but that’s for www.hoopskills.com.  I list these things not to brag but to give some credence to what I’m going to talk about. 

Strength Shoes are clearly one of my favorite products of all time.  I got the first series of strength shoes that were created and they weren’t nearly as cool as they are now.  Mine were low tops and white.  I didn’t have any other options but man did I love those shoes.  I’ve read on other sites that people think they don’t work, but they worked for me because I used them like crazy.  I would literally play pickup ball in them until I couldn’t feel my calves anymore.  I didn’t see a giant difference in my jumping ability but i was able to run a 4.4-4.5 40 yard dash as a result of my efforts.  The area I saw the greatest increase was my quickness.  Others have seen giant results in the jumping area like Willie Parker of the Steelers.

Willie Parker is one of the best running backs in the NFL and gives a very detailed story about strength shoes and how they helped his jumping and I have no doubt his speed.  For the story just click on the Willie Parker icon and it will take you to it, but Willie did something that sets him apart and that is he worked.  Not simply by jogging in his shoes but he wore them out he used them so what.  I wore my shoes out and that’s why I can say they were a great buy for me. 

Another product that I’ve been using at the gym is the StrengthSuit.  This one is amazing.  It makes me never want to gain an extra 30 pounds because I know what it feels like to carry it around.  I try not to jog in this product because of my questionable knees, but I’ll shoot baskets in it and do minimal jump ropes.  I’ve seen others use this exclusively for speed training and I can see the benefits from it as it really helps with the explosion off the line if you are using it for football and in basketball I can really feel it on my jumpshot.  I’ve never been a great jumper and I don’t think it is about that, I think it is about the feelings in your legs.  My legs feel stronger by using this product.  My strongest feeling is to say that it will help you if practice with it in the sport you want to do better at.  It builds endurance, stamina and strength without a doubt and I can’t say anything bad about it.

Once in my lifetime I will attend a Super Bowl live.  I’ve made a goal of mine for years.  I have made a goal of mine to actually watch every major sporting championship, college and pro, before I die.  I’m 35 and so far I’ve only crossed off a NCAA National Championship in basketball.  I had plans for a Wrigley Field World Series in 2003 but Steve Bartman happened instead. 

This year would’ve been a great year to attend the Super Bowl because of how close it is to me.  It is merely a 10 hour drive to Arizona from where I live and I have plenty of relatives or friends that I could stay with so that saves some money.  The only place I won’t save the money is on the actual ticket to get into the game, not when the price is sitting at roughly $4,300.00 per ticket.  That’s not a typo at all.  Stubhub is reporting that seats that were originally 700-900 dollars each are now going for 4,300.  That’s a decent used car if you ask me.  Websites are full of stories of people willing to shell out all kinds of money to get to the game and I think that’s great if you have it.  If it is your favorite team playing then by all means do what you have to and go because in sports you just don’t kno when it can happen again.  For instance, if I’m a Giants fan I would seriously consider going because I don’t think they’ll be back any time soon.  I wish I had the money but I don’t so I’ll enjoy watching the game from home again.   

I’ve been asked “what if the Bears were playing in Arizona this year?”  My answer is the same:  I guess my kids could probably work their way through college, right.

I get so sick of watching Sportscenter and hearing about whether Tom Brady is wearing a boot or not or practicing with the team.  In fact, I’ll say that the week before the Super Bowl is the worst week of the season for sports.  This week is so drawn out into the most ridiculous stories that mean nothing.  As if Brady isn’t going to play in the Super Bowl.  As if Tom Brady really needs to practice.  You know how when you are playing playstation and you have a play really figured out.  You are able to read a defense and watch for certain things.  Tom Brady has that almost every play.  Do you ever see him get stumped out there?  It is rare.  Tom could play with a broken ankle if you asked me or at least that’s the perception that is given about the guy.

Do you think the Giants are preparing for an injured Tom Brady?  I’ve read some comments from some of the players and I love their attitudes about it.  They want the Pats to be at full strength when they play.  If they beat them they don’t want any excuses of people being hurt or not at full strength.  I like that.  But please ESPN quit covering Tom Brady’s boot or no boot.  It is a waste.

Other notes:  The Dolphins would be idiots to take anyone but Glen Dorsey.  Dorsey is the only real sure bet this draft if there was one.  Take him and quit acting like you can get more out of it than that.  The best teams win through the draft and I think Parcells knows that.

My overrated guy for this year’s draft is Matt Ryan from Boston College.  I don’t think he is near a top 5 pick as he’s projected to be.  Like Alex Smith should never have been the top pick a few years ago, the team that picks Ryan will be disappointed a couple years from now when he’s holding the clipboard and waiving in signals making 5 million a season.

Each week for the past month I’ve predicted the Patriots wouldn’t win the Super Bowl and it looks like I’ve continued my impressive streak of being incorrect each time I predict something.  The Pats are in the Super Bowl against a team they’ve already beaten this season.

I really looked forward to the Colts vs Pats and that didn’t happen and I was banking on the Colts being the team to knock the Pats from the undefeated ranks.  Now that responsibility falls on the shoulders of the Giants.  Now I’m torn because I don’t know if I want the Pats to lose.

I’m serious here, I don’t think I want them to lose.  How many chances in my lifetime has a team come this close to ending the season undefeated?  I think back to 1976 when I was all of 4 years old and Indiana went undefeated and won the National Basketball Championship.  Since then a few teams have challenged going undefeated with none closer than UNLV that was undefeated before losing to Duke in the National Semifinals.  Illinois was 29-0 a few years ago before losing to Ohio St on a fluke shot before also losing in the NCAA tourney.  I was born the year the Dolphins did it in pro football.  In college football we see it quite a bit but still an undefeated season like this has never happened before. 

The Pats sit at 18-0 this season and must wait two weeks before playing the Giants.  If you’ll recall, the Giants nearly beat the Pats the last week of the season but still lost by 3 points.  I don’t see this game being nearly as close.  I predict your typical boring Super Bowl victory by the Pats and then crowning them the greatest team of all time.  I feel priviledged getting to watch them play.

If you were a college running back and graduated in 2007 you would have thought you had a good shot of hearing your name called fairly early in the upcoming draft.  Those thoughts would have been crushed lately by the announcements of numerous junior running backs who are declaring for the draft.  If I’m Mike Hart at Michigan I’m not too happy about this if you know what I’m saying.

 Darren McFadden:  Arkansas junior had an amazing college career.  Runs a 4.4 with a good build and is very elusive.  Great breakaway speed and will be a top 5 selection in the upcoming draft. 

Jonathan Stewart-  Oregon junior who isn’t as fast as McFadden but performed very well in a tough conference.  Stewart weighs nearly 235 pounds so he isn’t small but he carries the weight well and runs very low to the ground.  I think he’s a sure fire first round pick in the upcoming draft but I can’t predict where. 

Rashard Mendenhall-  Illinois junior who was the lone bright spot in the Rose Bowl for the Illini running for 160 yards and showing a great ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.  I’m an ILLINI fan so I’ve seen him play every game for the past two years and I really like him.  He is a guy that accelerates very quickly and has some breakaway speed.  Anytime you see a player run away from a defense like he did against USC you gather how fast the kid is.  He played in the spread offense but he’s had great success at every level and rarely gets tackled by one player.  Late first round early second for Rashard.

Felix Jones- Arkansas back played behind and with McFadden and many scouts feel that Jones is just as good or better.  I don’t personally but i’m no scout.  Jones averaged nearly 9 yards a carry this year in a tough tough conference against teams that knew exactly what Arkansas was going to try to do.  Jones had two straight 1000 yard seasons and will make some team very happy.  When Auburn had Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams it was Cadillac who got the pub but Brown was drafted higher.  Here, McFadden will go higher but the jury is out on who’ll be the better pro.  Late 1st early 2nd.

Ray Rice- Rutgers junior has made a name for himself since he got into school.  Rice is a shorter back but is very elusive and strong.  Showed he can carry the load against teams who knew that Rutgers would run.  I like Rice because i think he has the intangibles to be successful.  He’s a sleeper choice for me because I don’t think he’ll get picked as high as maybe he should.  I think he’ll go in the second round which is incredible but it wouldn’t surprise me if he turns out to be one of he better backs in the draft.

others worth mentioning:  Steve Slaton (WVU), Jamaal Charles (texas)-probably the fastest one, Kevin Smith (Central Florida)

Overall it is a great group of prospects and one that could be remembered for years.

Wow.  Leading up to those playoff games I thought I was pretty good and my prediction skills.  I really did, after all I am always in the top 3 in my March Madness pool and I’m usually in the top 5 in our NFL pick ‘ems.  The playoffs seemed to be no brainers because the home teams had such strong cases for victory.  Man was I wrong.

New Englad beat the Jags like I predicted and the Jags simply couldn’t stop them.  Brady set an NFL record for completion percentage in a playoff game and they went up and down the field every time.  Any time it got to 3rd down the Pats would get the first to keep the drive alive and you could see it demoralize the Jags each series.  The Jags played tough and I think would be the team to beat if not for the Patriots.

Green Bay killed the Seahawks.  I predicted a close game but I didnt’ predict Ryan Grant running for 200 yards.  Green Bay scored every possession except for 2 I believe.  They looked good and I’m happy for Favre.  I’m happy for the NFL because it pits the Packers versus the Giants.  The smallest market team with the most loyal fan base against the largest market team who upset American’s team.  I like it.

San Diego beat Indy at Indy and this one shocked me.  Indy just couldn’t finish drives like they are accustomed to and San Diego made plays.  Indy was stopped twice inside the 15 with no points being scored and you can’t do that and win in the playoffs.  The Chargers were feeding off the crowd there and I was impressed with the poise they showed after losing Tomlinson and Rivers.  I’ve never been a Rivers fan and if he’s out I still think they are just as good or better off with Volek playing.  If Tomlinson doesn’t play the Chargers will be in more trouble than they already are against the Pats.  Rumor has Dungy leaving Indy but I hope he doesn’t.  He seems like a class act in a league that needs some leaders with class.  By the way, I predicted a large win for the Colts.

Dallas got beat at home by the Giants.  I didn’t see this one coming at all.  Eli Manning actually looked good and in control despite being pressured the entire game.  He hung in the pocket and took some shots from the Cowboys defense but played very well.  Eli really looked to rookie Steve Smith from Usc and Amani Toomer whenever he was in trouble and it worked.  They did just enough for the win.  Dallas on the other hand is now going to get really scrutinized.  Tony Romo is going to get some flak because of his vacation with Jessica Simpson recently but it is undeserved.  Dallas simply couldn’t make plays down the stretch and it cost them.  The Giants were able to pressure Romo late and force him into some poor choices.  Dallas hasn’t won a playoff game for the past 12 seasons now and that amazes me. 

2 games on Saturday

Seattle vs Green Bay-  Green Bay seems the obvious choice here because they are playing at home in front of fans that haven’t seen the playoffs in a little bit.  Brett Favre is having his best season in 10 years and they only lost one game to a team not from Chicago.  The Packers are very good at home and I expect them to be very fired up.  The wildcard in this game is the weather.  If the weather is nice the Seahawks will be able to throw the ball and have to throw the ball.  The running game for the Hawks has been terrible to say the least and they will need all they can get from Hasselbeck.  Both qb’s have been in this spot before and come out on the winning and losing ends.  I expect this game to be fairly close with Green Bay winning 27-21.  Seattle will score late to make it look closer than it really was.

Jacksonville vs New England-  It will be cold tomorrow night when the Pats play the Jags but nothing unexpected for this time of year.  The Jags had to be hoping for snow but they didn’t get it.  The Jags want this game badly and will give the Pats fits with the running game and Jones Drew out of the backfield.  They don’t pass very well with Gerard at Qb but he’s very smart and is a great leader for his team.  He earned a lot of faith and respect after the Steelers win and he could pull something off here.  I said could pull something off however.  More than likely Tom Brady and the offense will go up and down the field against a Jags defense that struggled in the second half against the Steelers.  The Pats are used to each team gearing up to beat them and they will rise to a new level this week.  The Pats won’t win the Super Bowl but they will beat the Jags 38-17.

2 games on Sunday

San Diego vs Indianapolis-  I still can’t get over how Norv Turner’s team has a winning record.  The man is known for his offensive genius and not for his ability to head coach a team.  Anyway, the Colts are going to win here.  They are at home and Peyton wants a shot at New England very bad.  I want to see the rematch between the Colts and Pats as well.  Hopefully the Colts aren’t looking too far ahead for that.  They can’t sleep on the Chargers who feature one of the top 5 running backs of all time in Tomlinson.  LT will give them some trouble like he did when these teams first met.  If you’ll remember that game you’ll remember that Peyton threw 6 interceptions and the Colts still had a chance to win, but lost on a missed field goal by Vinatieri.  That won’t happen again.  Playing with an injured Antonio Gates only allows the Colts to bring Bob Sanders up and shadow Tomlinson longer.  The Colts are going to beat up the Chargers and it will be over by halftime.  Colts win 31-10.

 New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys-  Dallas has beaten the Giants twice this year and have put up some big numbers doing so.  Romo has averaged 300 yards passing and Terrell Owens is claiming to be back and healthy.  If TO doesn’t play well or is hurt the Giants have a chance because they will put up points.  If TO plays and does well then the Giants will get smoked.  Eli Manning needs to play out of his head for his team to have a chance and I don’t see that happening.  Romo will be playing with some added pressure after what happened to him last playoffs when he dropped the snap on the kick that would’ve won the game for Dallas.  I think he’s looking to do something special and will force some passes.  The longer the Giants are in the game the Cowboys will really risk it.  If they can get the Giants down by 10-14 points in the first half then I see the Giants folding up shop.  Cowboys win 30-21

I didn’t fall for it this time.  Last year when Ted Ginn returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown I thought that THE Ohio St. Buckeyes were going to rout the Gators.  We all know how that ended.  Yesterday, Beanie Wells ran for a 65 yard touchdown and actually pulled away from one of the fastest defenses in the country.  It was impressive but I didn’t fall for it.  I knew LSU would come back.

What surprised me was that LSU didn’t play Perrilloux more at QB.  Illinois had beaten Ohio St on the ground by pounding the ball to Rashard Mendenhall and letting Juice Williams control the game.  Perrilloux fit that style yet he only played a handful of plays.  Then again, why would he have played?  Offensive coordinator Gary Crowton called a fabulous game for the Tigers and constantly had Ohio St on their heels and guessing.  LSU threw the ball well and ran the ball well. 

I learned something else watching the game that is hard for me to admit…Ohio St. would’ve taken 3rd or 4th place in the SEC.  I’m serious.  Georgia would’ve beaten them, LSU beat them, Tennessee would’ve beaten them and Florida would’ve beaten them.  If they were in a conference with 3-5 tough road games a year they wouldn’t be in the title game all the time.  The Big Ten is downright weak right now and it hurts to write that.  I think they are going to turn that around but for now the BCS title game should be between the team that wins the pac 10 and the SEC.  The best in the east plays the best in the west and lets see what happens because I’m tired of watching Ohio st get worked every January.  Give someone else a shot.

I can’t believe a Norv Turner coached football team won a playoff game.  How could Norv do with this team that Marty couldn’t do last year?  Amazing to me how this happened.  Norv is the coach with 9 lives who never seems to die no matter how times he’s been fired.  I don’t know how he keeps all the teams straight for press conferences.  He’s like a respected Bobby Petrino that just keeps moving around each season.  Congrats to Norv and the Chargers on a hard fought win over a well prepared Tennessee team.  Jeff Fisher can coach football because San Diego had twice the talent out there yesterday and this was  a good football game.

The other game worth talking about is the Jacksonville/Pitt game.  This game had me really sucked in.  I predicted that the Jags would win but this was a great football game.  The first half looked terrible for Pitt but they have a lot of fight.  I liked what Ben was able to do the second half and he nearly pulled it off.  In fact if it weren’t for a missed holding call, on that now infamous 4th down run by Gerard, Pitt would’ve won the game.  People say it wasn’t holding but when a player is trying to move a certain direction but his shoulders and arms aren’t moving, then it is holding.  Try putting a bowl of ice cream on the counter and tell your kid they can have it if they get by you.  You’ll see what happens.  The same thing that happened to the PItt Lineman.  He wanted to get the ball carrier but he wasn’t physically able to do it.  Congrats to Jacksonville.  I think they are one of those teams that can play with and beat New England.  I’m still not sold on the Pats winning the whole thing at all.  If Jacksonville can run the ball on the Pats they have a shot.  Keep Brady off the field and pray for horrible weather.

The Washington/Seattle game didn’t do anything for me and neither did the Tampa/GIants game.  In the Giants game, Eli didn’t do anything special except not make his team lose.  People talk of him ‘growing up before our eyes’, gimme a break.  This guy isn’t a rookie or even a young player anymore.  He’s started for years now and his team needs him to play out of his mind against Dallas if they want a chance.  As for Washington/Seattle, the Seahawks are a team that doesn’t scare anyone.  If I was playing them in flag football I could convince myself that I had a chance.  I would count on Hasselbeck throwing a couple useless interceptions and no scary running backs anymore.  They don’t do anything but win when they have to.  I think they can beat the Packers though.  I’m not sold on the Packers yet though. 

In the next blog on Wednesday I’ll break down this weeks games and make some predictions.  I didn’t even want to go over the college BCS game tonight.  I’m bowl gamed out right now.

So the BCS isn’t earning many fans this year.  The same setup that pitted USC/Illinois and Hawaii/Georgia seemed to do right by at least letting West Virginia play Oklahoma, right?  Wrong again.  West Virginia crushed them last night by 20 points.  The BCS was supposed to bring us the best most evenly matched games and instead it has done the opposite so far.  Illinois lost by 32 points, Hawaii got beat by 31 and Oklahoma by 20.  Not a good start.  However, I think Ohio St. may be a little better than everyone believes.  LSU is a great team but they’ve lost twice and you can’t tell me that anyone is better than USC right now.  I’m an Illinois die hard fan and that was embarrassing but it would’ve happened to most teams that night.  USC is loaded and could’ve put up 60 points and 800 yards if they kept trying.  They had the “playstation” offense going.  Sorry for getting sidetracked but I want to make it clear that in my view USC is the best team in college football and I think they could play against the Miami Dolphins in the pros. 

Where did the BCS go wrong?  If USC wasn’t going to be in the title game then at least let them play Georgia.  They were the two teams that were most notably beaten out by LSU to get into the championship game so let them play each other.  Second, no WAC team should ever get to the BCS.  Yes I watched Boise St beat Oklahoma last year and I don’t even care about it.  Way to go Boise st but if I were picking you would be in the Humanitarian against an armed forces school.  Third, what happened to Missouri?  I love Illinois but Missouri beat them.  Is it right for the 3rd place Big Ten team get in the BCS against the top Pac 10 school?  Something is wrong there.  You should be top two in your conference at least to get in a BCS game or make each conference have a championship game. 

Looking ahead though, I really think that Ohio St is going to stick around in the LSU game.  Ohio St. is the underdog ranked number 1 in the country.  Lsu is supposed to come in and just hammer them.  Ohio St. has a very good defense that will play well against that type of offense and I don’t think Miles is that good of a coach anyway.  I think that if Ohio St can stay in the game they will have a chance late to win.  I see it as a very close game and if it comes down to a chess match between coaches then the advantage goes to Ohio St.  It isn’t a coincidence that LSU lost 2 overtime games. 

Overall i love bowl season and I love college football.  I’m not happy with the BCS but in the end I just want to watch good football and so far I’ve been disappointed.  I hope that changes next week.