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Nice job, ESPN.  You sucked me into your gimmick.  The 23-hour college hoops tip-off marathon was yesterday and I watched a little bit of every game.  For the most part, the games were not very good, but I was able to make a few observations that I will share with you.

• For those of you who can’t watch college basketball in November or December because it is still football season, you’re not missing much.  The quality of basketball is much different in November than it is in March.
• Kentucky is bad.  Maybe all-time bad.  They were unhappy with Tubby Smith because he was getting them into the NCAA tournament but he hadn’t won a national title since his first year.  So they let him go and hired Billy Gillespie, who had two good years at Texas A&M.  Last year, Gillespie got off to an auspicious start by losing to Gardner-Webb.  This year, he starts the year by losing to VMI and then UNC by 19.  How long will Billy Gillespie last?  I predict not long if he misses the Big Dance.
• For my Lynchburg readers, Liberty looked bad.  All-time bad.  Ritchie McKay played five guards during most of the game.  They used a zone defense that didn’t work.  They had no offense.  It was just drive and kick out for a 3 every time down the floor.  Don’t hope for much this season.
• Stick with college football for now.  The season’s ending is going to be really good.

One last thing.  Why do they have rankings and polls in college basketball?  They become irrelevant when the selection committee meets to discuss the March Madness teams.  They aren’t even an item that the committee considers.  So why have them?  Of course, I have an answer.

ESPN.

Okay, so I’m kidding…a little bit.  It’s not just ESPN.  It’s television in general.  Television can promote games better when ranked teams are playing.  That’s it.  That’s the reason.  It’s all about television.

Maybe someday soon I’ll write about the way the media has changed sports.  Until then, ponder these points about college basketball.  Let them bake in your mind’s oven for two months before you start watching.  Check back here for more quality thoughts when you do.

Scott Wiebe had his fun.  His one-night stand in November with college basketball is over.  He is going back home to college football.  Click the How to Fix College Football page for more information.

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I’m still.  I can’t move.  Paralyzed is a word that comes to mind.  I don’t know when it will end.

It must be sports overload.

College football.  NFL football.  NHL and NBA.  I was keeping up with all of that.  Now, college basketball has begun and it is too much for me to handle.

What’s a sports guy to do?

Luckily, I’ve got you covered.  I have a guide of what to watch.  In a sports world filled with important games, here is what you can’t miss:

Monday - Monday Night Football.

Tuesday - ESPN is carrying an all-day college basketball marathon to kick off its coverage of the regular season.  I know.  By February, these games won’t matter, but it’s the start of the season and you know you want to watch.  (Side note for my local Lynchburg, VA readers: ESPN is carrying the 2:00 game between UNC Asheville and Liberty.  Set your DVR’s.)

Wednesday - Ball State vs. Central Michigan.  I am not kidding.  Both teams are undefeated in the MAC West.  Central Michigan has dominated this division in the last five years.  Ball State is unbeaten overall, trying to crash the BCS party.  You need to watch this game.

Thursday - Steelers-Bengals on the NFL Network.  Also, Miami-Georgia Tech.  This game should go a long way to determine one of the two teams that will play in the ACC championship game.

Friday - Re-introduce yourself to the family.  Take your wife out on a date.  Say nothing about the big football weekend approaching.

Saturday - College football.

Sunday - NFL football.

See me back here next Monday.  Have a blast this week.  Try to get some exercise in between some of these games.  It’s going to be a long and fun football winter.

Scott Wiebe is here for you.  He will keep typing, even during this amazing weekend of sports.  Luckily for him, he can, thanks to his DVR and his XM, which allows him to record certain games on the radio.  You can’t go wrong with that winning one-two combination.  DVR and XM.  Initials that will keep you in the sports loop.  (By the way, one ad click a day is all he asks.  Click now.  Thanks.)

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For the first time this season, I am looking forward to the NFL games more than the college games on the weekend’s schedule.  The NFL season is flying by.  With the season more than halfway through, the games are getting more important.  That means it’s time for me to watch.

Week 11 got off to a good start with the Jets-Patriots game last night.  Sunday should be even better.  Denver-Atlanta, Chicago-Green Bay, Baltimore-NY Giants, Minnesota-Tampa Bay, Tennessee-Jacksonville, San Diego-Pittsburgh and Dallas-Washington are all on the schedule.

Jets get Week 11 kicked off with a win - NYTimes.com

If DirecTV offered one week packages of all the NFL games, instead of NFL Sunday Ticket for the entire season, I would buy it for this Sunday.

On the college schedule, you have to search for reasons to watch some of the games.  There are no marquee matchups that have national championship implications.  Many top teams, however, are playing in key games that will help to shape the conference races.  And as always, you have to watch the top teams play.  They could get upset during any week.  With six teams still believing in their national title chances, there are many potential upsets out there.

North Carolina-Maryland is a big game in the ACC conference.  Texas-Kansas is a sneaky game from the Big 12.  If Kansas wins, they will keep themselves in the running in the Big 12 North, and knock Texas from their #3 ranking nationally.  In the SEC, the South Carolina-Florida and Mississippi State-Alabama will be worth a glance.  Both Florida and Alabama have locked up bids in the SEC championship game.  Both are at home.  Is there potential for a letdown?  I think so.

Ladies and gentlemen, your Pac-10 champions?

Perhaps the most intriguing conference race is in the Pac-10.  USC meets Stanford in a rematch of last year’s epic Cardinal upset.  Meanwhile, Oregon State plays a tough game at home against California.  Watch out for the Beavers.  They have one loss in the conference, and they gave USC their one and only loss in the conference.  If Oregon State can run the table, they will win the Pac-10.  Crazy, isn’t it?  Everyone is debating USC’s national title chances.  Meanwhile, they might not win their own conference.  The Pac-10 is worth a look this weekend.

Scott Wiebe will watch Minnesota-Wisconsin on Saturday.  Sure, it’s not a big game nationally, but the winner of the game gets control of Paul Bunyan’s Axe.  That’s a big deal where he comes from.

One click a day.  That’s all he asks.  If everyone clicks one ad link per day, that will keep this site up and running.  Thanks for your support.

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Here I sit, trying to figure out what I can say that you will want to read.  Yesterday, I took a look at the columns in the NFL category of this blog.  The only columns I’ve written during the season are a Week 1 Monday Night Football journal and a column about media bias and steroids.

Oops.  The NFL is the most popular sport in America, and I’ve ignored it.

I’ve ignored it on my TV, too.  The only games I’ve watched in their entirety are those involving the Vikings, and since I live in Virginia, I’ve only gotten to see three of them.

Why is that?  Why can’t I get into the NFL?  Is it because I’m a jealous baseball fan and I hate the media’s Obama-like obsession with football?  Is it because the NFL has a watered-down product and too many teams?  Is it because very little matters until the playoffs?

Yes, yes and yes.  Or maybe no.  I can’t tell.  Regardless, I am struggling to watch the NFL this season.  And I’m struggling even more to write about it.  How do you write a unique column people will want to read when every single angle is covered on ESPN, the NFL Network and every sports radio talk show across the country?

I’ll do my best with some random notes given in bullet point format.

• To those who complain about East Coast bias, you’re probably not saying much right now.  The four teams in the NFC East and the four teams in the AFC East are all over .500.  The eight teams out west are a combined 24-48.
• Dallas is the most overrated team every year.  They could go 16-0, and they would still be overrated.  Why do the media talk so much about the Cowboys?
• Here’s a point that no one can argue.  If you think I’m wrong, you’re stupid and you deserve to be humiliated.  Tony Romo is the most overrated quarterback today, and perhaps of all time.  Tony, win a game in January.  Then, you can celebrate like a movie star.
• I hate listening to diva wide receivers from Monday to Saturday, but I love watching their end zone celebrations on Sunday.
• Last year, the Giants overcame a bad start to win the Super Bowl.  It felt like they came out of nowhere.  This year, they have decided to go a different route.  They are going to be the best team during the regular season.  I think that means they have no chance of repeating as champions.  I predict a painful NFC Championship game loss at home to Washington or Arizona.  Wouldn’t that be something?
• Aaron Rodgers is 4-5.  Brett Favre is 6-3.  I’m just saying.
• Gus Frerotte is 5-2 as a starter in Minnesota.  Wait a minute, I’m checking my calendar.  Yes, it’s confirmed.  The year really is 2008.  I was starting to wonder.
• Remember the opening game of the year between the Giants and the Redskins?  Washington looked terrible.  Now, they’re 6-3.  Does that mean that I’m right to say that the regular season doesn’t mean much?
• Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco are making JaMarcus Russell and Matt Leinart look bad.  Really bad.  They’re also proving the media wrong, who have spent five years convincing us that a rookie quarterback can’t play well in the NFL.  In case you haven’t noticed, I love it when the media is wrong.
• The Giants, the Cardinals and the Titans are guaranteed to make the playoffs.
• Are you comfortable with the “Wildcat” offense?  I’m not.  It’s fun in college, but it seems juvenile when performed in the NFL.
• Ohio, you had your day during the election.  You confirmed that Barack Obama would be president of the United States.  As a punishment, you get to watch the Browns and Bengals compete for last place.  That should teach you.
• Kerry Collins is undefeated as a starter.  Wait a minute.  Let me take another glance at my calendar.  Yup, it’s still 2008.  Crazy.
• Kurt Warner is the starting quarterback for the first-place Arizona Cardinals.  I’m tempted to check my calendar again.  And the time zones.  I’m convinced if I do, it will tell me we are all living in the Twilight Zone.
• Here’s why the NFL’s system is messed up.  A terrible Broncos or Chargers team will make the playoffs while a very good Colts or third-place AFC East team will miss them.  When you divide up the league into small divisions like the ones the NFL has, it makes for terrible playoff games.
• See previous bullet point.  Replace Broncos or Chargers with Bears or Cardinals.  Then replace Colts with Bucs/Falcons and AFC East with NFC East.

There you have it.  My random NFL thoughts.  It’s not John Clayton’s midseason report, but it’s close.  I think I’ll watch the Jets-Patriots game on Thursday night and attempt to enjoy the stretch run of the season.

Scott Wiebe sees the NFL like no one else.  He also sees college football like no one else.  Go to How to Fix College Football for more information.

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It is my belief that the Pac-10 should lose its automatic bid into the BCS.  Yes, I know that this belief would destroy all of the tradition of college football.  It would ruin the matchup against the Big Ten champion in the Rose Bowl.  Whatever.  Tradition has never been very important to me anyway.

Here’s the deal: There’s a better conference than the Pac-10.  It’s called the Mountain West.  A closer look will reveal the truth.

USC is a top-ten team from the Pac-10.  After that, it doesn’t look good.  Every other team is mediocre.  At the bottom of the conference, you will find some of the worst teams in the country, like Washington and Washington State.

The Mountain West has some bad teams, certainly, but take a look at the top.  Utah, TCU, BYU and Air Force are excellent teams.  All four of them could beat any team from the Pac-10.  Even USC.  Utah will be in the BCS, if they don’t get tripped up first.  BYU and TCU are very good, top-20 teams for sure.

It’s already been decided on the field.  September 13 was a memorable day for the Mountain West, winning four games over Pac-10 opponents.  TCU 31, Stanford 14.  BYU 59, UCLA 0.  New Mexico 36, Arizona 28.  UNLV 23, Arizona State 20.

The Pac-10 got a win on September 27 - California 42, Colorado State 7.  But on October 2, the Mountain West won their fifth over the Pac-10 - Utah 31, Oregon State 28.

5-1 against the Pac-10.  Need any more evidence?

It would be a shame if the Mountain West is not represented in the BCS.  The conference is so deep that it will be tough for any of them to go unbeaten.  Indeed, Utah is the only team to make it this far.  Even if Utah loses, the champion of the conference needs to play in one of the biggest games of the season.

The Mountain West has earned it.

Scott Wiebe wants to give some love to the “mid-majors.”  He does it in college basketball.  He is doing it today in college football.  To see how he really feels about the mid-majors, check out How to Fix College Football.  Scroll to the top to find the link for that page.

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