Random Rumblings and VIKINGS!!

Wild week of sports. Let's get right to it. Vikings preview at the end.

-USC basketball showed they were for real by taking a great #6 Oklahoma team down to the wire in Norman, eventually falling by 1. The Trojans looked terrific from the outset, going up 9-0 in the early going. Unfortunately, my biggest beef with this game was the officiating, specifically the way Oklahoma star Blake Griffin was treated. Basically, he got every call, as if he was already an NBA superstar. Anytime you nicked him, a foul was called. In addition, numerous charging fouls on Griffin were completely ignored or called as blocking fouls on the Trojans. The most critical "no call" came in the final minutes when Griffin absolutely barreled over Keith Wilkinson and put in a layup. If the right call is made just on that one play, the Trojans win the game. The call that got me the most amped, however, was when Leonard Washington absolutely stuffed the s*** out of Griffin. Washington went straight up, and actually jumped so high that he got his wrist on the middle of the ball. Griffin fell down because he got stuffed so hard, and got bailed out with the foul call. Even the announcers, who were drooling over Griffin and the Sooners all game, said the call was horrendous. I really can't say I agree with the love for Blake Griffin nationally. This was the first time he faced a ligit big man in Taj Gibson, and we held him to 6 rebounds (14 below his average). He also is extremely soft in the post, and as I mentioned, gets every frickin call. Normally in college basketball, everyone is treated fairly with regards to officiating. Not the case for the Sooner "star". Regardless, I was happy with the Trojans showing; I just wish they could have pulled off the upset. If they play even close to this level, they should and will win the Pac-10. Surprisingly, it looks like the toughest competition may be ASU, not the bRuins. We'll have to wait about a month to find out.

-Fun being at the Rose Bowl yesterday for the Trojans 28-7 victory over their crosstown rivals UCLA. The game was all about defense for USC, and they showed yet again why they are the best unit in the country. After giving up an early TD after a turnover in their own territory, the Trojans went into lock down mode, surrendering only 7 first downs to the Bruins the entire game. UCLA football has such a long, long way to go to get to USC's level. Rick Neuheisel may have the toughest job in college football because he is at such a huge recruiting disadvantage going up against recruiting master Pete Carroll. The win yesterday clinched a seventh straight Pac-10 title for Carroll and the Trojans, something unprecedented in college football today. Congratulations to Coach Carroll, his entire staff, and the players. Should be a fun Rose Bowl against Penn State and Joe Pa. Hopefully, around January 8 of 2010, we'll be playing in the Rose Bowl (the stadium, not the actual bowl) for something a little better. Fight On.

-North Carolina is so much better than everyone else in college basketball right now. They handled a great Notre Dame team over Thanksgiving and just destroyed a very solid Michigan State team. The Dukies might be the Heels toughest opponent. Those games are going to be ridiculous this year.

-Yet again, we have a team in the BCS title game that doesn't belong there in the Oklahoma Sooners. Anyone in America (except if they're from Norman) can look at the BCS and tell you how unfair it is that the Sooners got to the Big 12 title game over Texas, even though the Longhorns beat Oklahoma by ten on a neutral field. Here's the crazy thing I'm hoping for: Florida to get left out of the title game. It is actually possible Texas could stay ahead of Florida in the BCS rankings, and we could have a Oklahoma-Texas rematch. Why am I hoping for this? Because I don't give a damn about seeing the best title game. I would much prefer huge national outrage against the BCS. Something like this needs to happen if we are ever going to get rid of this archaic system. It will get people up in arms, the BCS would hate it, and we would at least have some hope of finally getting rid of this system.

My question is this: Why should a one-loss Flordia team be taken over a one-loss USC team? Florida lost to Mississippi at home, while the Trojans lost to a solid Oregon State team on the road. And no, it shouldn't be because the SEC is better than the Pac-10 this year. Despite the common perception and the media telling you otherwise, the Pac-10 is a better overall league than the SEC this year. The SEC has 2 solid teams in Alabama and Florida. The Pac-10 has USC, Oregon State, Oregon, and Cal, all of whom have been in the top 25 for much of the season. It may not be as good at the top, but it is much deeper than the SEC. Ultimately, depth is what matters because you have to play more tough games. Before playing Florida, Alabama had faced no one very good. USC had faced Ohio State, Oregon State, Oregon, and Cal, all of whom turned out to be good teams this year. The media love for the SEC has to stop. Even if you disagree with me, you can agree with me on this: a playoff system would put the debate to rest once and for all, and finally, we could all agree that the national champion is the best team in the nation.

-The O.J. Mayo for Kevin Love and Mike Miller is turning out to be a disaster, just as I had anticipated. Mayo is already averaging 21 ppg, albeit for a bad Grizzlies team. The point that I tried to make after the trade was that we gave up a potential superstar in Mayo, and you can't do that when you are trying to build a team. What is the common thread of most championship teams? At least 2, usually 3 stars. Boston last year? 3 star players. What is the common trait of teams like Los Angles, Boston, San Antonio, New Orleans, Houston, Orlando, and Detroit this year? They have 3 legitimate stars. Kevin McHale is doing exactly the same thing with Big Al that he did with KG: he is surrounding him with role players, rather than complimentary stars. Kevin Love might be a solid player in the NBA eventually (he's actually looked very good lately), but he will never be the star that O.J. Mayo is already proving he is. Could you imagine a shooter like Mayo combined with a post presence like Jefferson? That would be the building block to success. Instead, it seems like McHale has no clear plan for the future of this franchise. He is compiling parts, but the problem is that most of them resemble himself as a player rather than Larry Bird. He needs to stop falling in love with people in the draft who clearly don't have good athletic ability, and start keeping the sure things (Brandon Roy, O.J. Mayo). I only needed a few games watching Mayo here at USC to know that he had what it took to be a star in the NBA. He can shoot lights out from anywhere on the floor, but more importantly he has his head in on his shoulders and has the right attitude. He has no shortage of self confidence, and why should he? Unfortunately, the only time we'll see him in Minnesota is when he comes into Minnesota and dominates Randy Foye or Rashad McCants. What a joke this franchise is. It starts up top with Glen Taylor, one of the worst owners in professional sports (that deserves its own post).

-Excited for the Vikings to take the next step towards the playoffs today with a win over the Kiddies in Detroit. After a week of turmoil, the Williams Wall will play, so there are no excuses for anything less than sheer domination. Detroit is so bad and we need to put them and their fans that are still coming to games out of it very early. If I'm Childress I take the ball if we win the toss, and hand it off to Adrian a lot en route to an early score. I can't figure out why AD didn't put up huge numbers against the Lions in the Dome (a scary 12-10 Vikes win). It must have been a good scheme, but there is no way that Adrian will be stopped again by this pathetic team. They can't tackle, they can't fill their run gaps, and their quarterback is Daunte Culpepper . I really want to see Jared Allen light Culpepper up a few times. So far, we have been a bad road team. Today is a good time to start turning that around. The toughest part about today might be the atmosphere at Ford Field. Coming off an emotional win in a crazy building last week, the Vikings may feel like their back at the high school field this week. The challenge will be to come out with the same intensity and assertiveness that they came out with against Chicago. Do that, and there's no way the Lions win. Vikes take the next step this week. My prediction: Vikings 31, Lions 10. Lions go to 0-13. Vikings continue rolling and go to 8-5. SKOL.

Thanks for reading.