By Mike Luce

As bowl season winds down, everyone is starting to play musical chairs. Players such as Florida State DE Bjoern Werner and LSU LB Kevin Minter are leaving school early to declare for the NFL draft while the coaching carousel begins to spin. There has even been a Ron Turner sighting in the wilds of Florida! Sources confirm that Turner has molted, shedding his old Tampa Bay Buccaneers coloring for the vibrant spring plumage of Florida International.
Two teams are hemorrhaging star players: Michigan State and Florida. In East Lansing, MSU RB Le’Veon Bell and TE Dion Sims will be making the leap as well as junior defensive end William Gholston.
That is three nationally ranked top ten (ish) players at each position gone. We hope Spartan coach Mark Dantonio has been stashing away some cash from his new 2011 contract.

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Posted on January 4, 2013

By Carl Mohrbacher

No point in mincing words, this offensive scheme was silly and I completely blame it for the Bears not winning the division.
I blame it like I blame Animal’s cocaine habit for breaking up Dr. Teeth And The Electric Mayhem.
I blame it like I blame John Wilkes Booth for ruining the third act of Our American Cousin.
I blame it like I blame Scott Bakula for . . . well, he knows why we can’t visit Rochester again.

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Posted on January 3, 2013

By Roger Wallenstein

The holiday lunch table conversation – replete with juicy burgers, greasy fries, and my wimpy chicken Caesar wrap – covered a variety of topics, starting with Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and the Steroids Era. Should these mopes gain entrance into the Hall of Fame when the balloting is announced on January 9th?
We all know the answer to this one, yet it continues to occupy our attention. My two pals, Bill and Doug, like myself, are in their 60s, and none of us made the case to let any of the denounced athletes into the sacred bastion. However, the cases of Bonds and Clemens, both of whom had Hall of Fame numbers prior to ramping up their games and extending their careers with PEDs, at least merit discussion.

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Posted on January 1, 2013

By Mike Luce

Happy New Year, college football fans. Take advantage of the bargains on offer today and start the New Year right. With a little luck, you might offset the cost of the O-bombs, cab fares and/or escorts from December 31. For fun, we suggest a four-team parlay: Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida State. At 10-1, the payoff could be one hell of a kickoff. That said, our selections thus far in bowl season have been ludicrously bad. But we feel the Free Range Chicken is due for a comeback.
Game: TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl
Time: Tuesday, January 1, ESPN2, Noon (Everbank Field, Jacksonville)
Teams: Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-4, 4-4 SEC) vs. #20 Northwestern Wildcats (9-3, 5-3 Big Ten)
How they got here: The Bulldogs treaded water again in the SEC. Under head coach Dan Mullen, Mississippi State has gone 29-21 overall including back-to-back postseason wins, crushing Michigan 52-14 in the 2010 Gator Bowl, followed by a 23-17 win over Wake Forest in the Music City Bowl. Wins in-conference have been harder to come by, and Mullen’s squad has only posted a 13-19 record since 2009.

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Posted on January 1, 2013