John Calipari has to be one of the most over rated coaches in college basketball today. He had an impressive couple of years at Memphis, where some of the best high school talent in the country got recruited by Coach Calipari and his staff. While showing no loyalty to the good folks in Memphis and those Tiger fans in Tennessee; the John Calipari Show would hit the road and go north into the Blue Grass State of Kentucky.

Now Kentucky has historically been a good basketball program. Many coaches before Calipari put the Kentucky basketball program on the map and truly a bright spot for the SEC. What Mr. Calipari failed to realize, is he was blazing a new trail in the South and this was a NCAA basketball trail, right through the streets of Memphis. The coach could have really been a legend in Volunteer Nation and could have created a Memphis basketball program that could play with a Kentucky Wildcats team or even the two blue schools that make up the Tobacco Road Rivalry in the ACC with the Tar Heels from North Carolina and their rivals the Duke Blue Devils. It would have been fun to watch Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, and the talented recruits choosing Memphis, because Coach John Calipari would have been there. Instead, this NCAA Coach sold out his former team in Memphis and now the Tigers are back to mediocrity in the state of Tennessee and even below this in terms of a national ranking.

John Calipari chose money over his kids.

Those talented basketball players that he made promises to and the promises to these kids parents all got thrown out the window, because John Calipari was only concerned about his bank account and which school could give him the highest paycheck. For any talented basketball players with the Kentucky Wildcats on your mind, might want to reconsider another school, because Calipari will leave Kentucky if the NBA or another college offers him a higher pay check.

Today I got to watch John Calipari up close and his group of talented kids from Kentucky. No doubt, these tall, lean, and athletically gifted kids rolled into Athens, Georgia this Saturday afternoon looking sharp. For the Wildcats and the Georgia Bulldogs first SEC match up of the season. Calipari was a man with his head high in the air and his players carried that same strut, as they warmed up in the shoot around before the Bulldogs and Wildcats tipped it off.

Not sure how much of that Blue Grass Calipari and his staff has been smoking up there, but his team doesn’t have John Wallanymore and the Georgia Bulldogs have improved since last season. John Calipari did not have his boys ready to play in Athens, Georgia today. That was clear from the tip; when the Bulldogs ran off to a 7 to 2 start and Kentucky really got whipped by a scrappy bunch of Georgia kids, who were ready to play on this beautiful day in Georgia. Before the halftime break the Bulldogs let the Wildcats close the gap. Kentucky quickly regained their strut in the 2nd half and would have the lead in the 2nd half, but only for a short time.

These talented and strong basketball players like Trey Thompkins, Jeremy Price, and Chris Barnes was relentless inside for the Georgia Bulldogs. They controlled these mean and lean driving machines from Kentucky. Calipari didn’t install any offensive plays for his team, as most of their plays was a 2 or 3 pass, cut and weave and then hoisting a long jumper. If it wasn’t that play, it was the simple one on one play down the middle, where the Wildcat players would take the basketball strong to the hoop and these individual moves, did result in free throws for the Cats. Fans for the historic program of Kentucky have to be furious with John Calipari today. His team had no rhythm and none of the guards were leading the team or playing quarterback on the court. Kentucky basketball look really sad today in Georgia.

Now the size did present problems; when Barnes, Thompkins, and Price was establishing their presence on both ends of the floor. The high flying sensation Travis Leslie played a very calm game and took his leaps when needed and this young man did a fine job knocking down his free throws too. You could see the Wildcats had no speed on the court or at least no speed to contain Gerald Robinson. Number #22 is a blur for the Dawgs and not many guards in the country can keep up with him, but you figured Kentucky would first try to stop him and keep him from the paint. The Wildcat defense was clueless and was even going to a zone, just because the man-to-man match ups got too confusing for these kids playing away from their home floor and on the road in Georgia. Kentucky should have hired a gopher to keep an eye on number 22, because his penetration into the lane and his free-will to go anywhere on the floor he wanted, was the end of this game, before it ever really started.

Dustin Ware from Georgia has played well this year and his tempo is perfect for the Bulldog half-court sets. He controls the tempo and Robinson can elevate it to faster and sometimes he goes faster than faster. This team will be a tough opponent for any SEC team in college basketball. Georgia is slowly putting together a good squad that can contend on a national level.

The highest honor in the Peach State for a Georgia High School Basketball Player is known as Mr. Basketball. The Bulldogs are fortunate to have last year’s Mr. Basketball in Georgia on their team now and his name is Marcus Thornton. A very talented young man with long arms, a 6 foot 7 inch height on the floor and a healthy 225 pounds for this freshmen Bulldog player; who was born in Atlanta, Georgia. I have also heard about this year’s Mister Basketball in the state of Georgia has signed a letter of intent to be with the Georgia Bulldogs basketball team next year. This is great news for Mark Fox, the head coach of these young Dawgs. Fans in Athens and all around the state will enjoy watching the Dawgs have two Mr. Basketballs in the state of GA on their team for next season.

I believe any good basketball players living in Kentucky, Georgia, or other parts in the Southeastern United States, should take a close look at Mark Fox and the Georgia basketball program. This would be an excellent opportunity to play with a head coach who is committed to his players and let’s them play a fun-style of game. Head coach Fox allows his team to shoot 3 point jumpers from around the arc; while keeping a strong focus on their interior passing. Come play at Georgia, for those with a high skill level of basketball, so you can play with 2 Mr. Basketballs in the state of Georgia, and the highest flying act in college basketball today and that is the Mr. Travis Leslie.

He’s only 6-4 in height, but he can jump over 7 footers. Just ask the former Kentucky Wildcat player, who is now playing in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings, who is Travis Leslie? He will speak right up, because Leslie jammed one home on Demarcus Cousins (former SEC player who is a Sacramento Kings NBA player today) hard last year and he just simply jumped up and continue to elevate, until he had completely jumped over him! This picture of Travis Leslie doing his most famous dunkyet, doesn’t do complete justice, because the Bulldog junior would keep rising on this play, until  Leslie’s knees were over Demarcus Cousin’s head.

Not only is Travis just a junior in his 3rd year on campus, but the Bulldogs star player Trey Thomkins is also playing in his 3rd scholarship year. Both Leslie and Thompkins could return for their senior seasons, where they would be in great company. This team has the star power to be a final 4 NCAA team now. If everyone stays for next year, this Bulldog basketball team is guaranteed a ticket to the NCAA Final 4 in 2012!

The final score on this Saturday afternoon had the Georgia Bulldogs defeating the Wildcats from Kentucky 77 to 70. The colors of the Kentucky men’s team in basketball will not be the only thing blue on their long bus ride home, back to their Bluegrass State. John Calipari will be leading the chorus of blues these guys will be singing, as he has to figure out a way to get this group of thorough-bred race horses back on track. The fastest 2 minutes in sports might not be the Kentucky Derby, if the NBA comes calling for Calipari to coach on the next level. You can sure bet this man will leave his blues and his young men and the promises he has made to them in 2 minutes or less. Calipari has proven in Memphis, he’s going to coach for the highest bidder. Too bad a lot of good young ball players is having to live with their college choices, because they thought they were trusting a good and popular NCAA coach. John Calipari is no better than those horses that get a broken leg and need to be took out to the Pasteur and shot!

Kentucky’s historic basketball program is in trouble and it could take years for the best recruits in the country to decide to give this SEC school a try. While one SEC school is on the decline, another is climbing and this is the solid and professional staff of Mark Fox and the Georgia Bulldogs. In real life, we see dogs getting the upper hand on cats and now we are seeing it in college basketball. The Georgia Bulldogs have chosen a good school color with red, since their basketball program is flaming hot; while the Kentucky basketball history is singing the blues. Perhaps it’s even Memphis Blues? Hey John, amazing how things come back to bite you in the you-know-what, right?

The first thing that comes to mind, when I think about girls and Christmas, would have to be Barbie. Most parents can’t go wrong with her and Barbie is a classic girls gift. Not only does this popular doll come in a number of varieties, but you have all the different Barbie accessories. After you get the doll, parents can shop for a Barbie Car, the Barbie 3 Story Dream House, and an endless supply of Barbie Fashions to dress her up in. I found one Barbie item selling online this year, that I think most girls would love to have. I can see the Barbie Ultimate Nail Dryer Set for Bath and Beauty being a hot Barbie item this holiday season. Amazon is the best place online to shop for new Barbie accessories and for the absolute lowest prices too.

One more thing I like about the Barbie collection of girls items, is the Barbie make up kit for the younger girls. Your youngest daughter might be trying to wear make-up, like her older sister, but her make up is a little too grown up for her. I think the youngest girls in the household, would feel just like the older girls, if they had the chance to play with the 32 Piece Barbie Make-up Set. Parents don’t have to worry about the older daughters and the teen girls in the house either. I have seen some very nice make-up sets selling for the older girls at really low prices online. Two make-up kits caught my eye this year. One was a $40 All-In-One make-up set and another for a little bit cheaper and it was the $30 Eye Shadow Set with 192 colors. Both of these make-up kits would give a lot of options to your teenage daughters and I’m sure Mom might want to borrow this from time to time too.

Playing the popularity game at Christmas time can be hard on parents. We don’t always know which gifts are in-style and which ones went out. I can help a few parents to get hip this Christmas, by suggesting one of the hot girl gifts for this year. The FurReal Furry Frenzies is a collection of stuff animals that are really gaining in popularity. These cute and lovable stuff animals are designed by the Hasbro Company. While these stuff animals were available last year, the line has grown to include more animals and at different ages. A lot of these FurReal Furry Friends will be the top gift on the list for many girls this holiday season. Below is a quick TV commercial, showing you two examples of the FurReal Furry stuff animals from Hasbro.

FurReal Furry Frenzies

I know a little girls out there want a dog for Christmas. If you just can’t get them the real thing, maybe a toy dog is the answer. Or you can always turn to the Play-Doh Company for great gift ideas for girls. They even offer a Play-Doh Puppies Playset and this is a lot cheaper than a real puppy dog. This puppy set from Play Doh is currently priced at under $10, so a perfect little item you can get, while addressing their desires to have a real dog for Christmas this year.

Another item that caught my eye this year was the Dairy Queen Blizzard Maker. Gifts on Christmas morning need to have a lot of bold and bright colors. This DQ Blizzard Machine, which makes real ice cream blizzards caught my eye. I just thought how wonderful it would be to see this toy on Christmas morning. This isn’t just for the girls either. I’m sure the little man of the house would like to see this Christmas gift on his side of the Christmas tree too! You can order this product with refill packs. The more refill packs you get, the more you can expect to pay. The first link above will take you to the Blizzard Maker for about 25 bucks. You can go here: DQ Blizzard Maker with 3 Refill Packs and will be looking around $65. So the price range for this colorful Christmas gift is about $25 to $65. Lots of refill packets and dessert mixes you can buy separate and you can find all of these DQ Blizzard Maker Accessories at Amazon.

Girl Gifts for Under $20

1. LeapFrog Learn and Groove Music Wand – $14

2. Fantasma Magic Set with DVD – $9

3. Disney Fairies Tinkerbell and the Lost Tresure Play Make-Up Kit – $15

4. Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Tea Set – $19

5. Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Sing with Me CD Player – $20

6. Alex Toys My Giant Busy Box – $20

7. Alex Toys & Little Hands Art Series – $8

8. Project Runway Fashion Tote – $16

9. Mindware’s Make Your Own Mask Kit – $18

10. Friendship Bracelet Maker w/56 Threads - $18

11. Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics: Jewelry Box – $15

12. Uncle Milton Rainbow in My Room – $19

13. Crayola Color Explosion Glow Board – $15

14. Littliest Pet Shop Collector’s Starter Pack – $8

15. Corolle Calin Baby Doll – $20

These are just a few of the girl gifts that caught my eye this year. The good news is, you can order each and every one of these products online at Amazon. No long shopping lines, no crowded malls, and no stress in trying to find a good parking place. You still have time to order these items online and have them delivered before Christmas Day arrives.

I’m sure there is at least one gift idea on this page for every little girl out there. Gift # 15 on my list is the Corolle Calin doll and these are usually pretty expensive to buy. Finding one online for $20 is a great deal. Gift #12 is the rainbow for your little daughter’s room. What girl would not want to have their very own rainbow? This gift does run on double AA batteries, so if you decide to get the Uncle Milton Rainbow, please don’t forget to buy the batteries! Gift #11 the Orb Factory Mosaics has a very high 5 star rating at Amazon. The parents that took the time to review this gift, gave it the highest possible rating, so I’m sure this one would be a winner on Christmas morning. Once you get over to Amazon, you can scroll down to the bottom, to find other helpful gift ideas. If I can do this, I’m sure any parent out there can. Enjoy your holidays and happy shopping!

Regardless of what you hear on TV these days. The Pac 10 never was and is still no where close to the talent level of the SEC college division. The game on January 10th between the Auburn Tigers and Oregon Ducks will be no problem for the Auburn football team from the South Eastern Conference. No Pac10 teams should even be in the AP Top 25 Poll right now. The only reason we have Pac 10 teams appearing, is due to the rich sponsors of the USC Trojan team; which calls the Pac 10 home.

Oregon has had a fine season. They are the nation’s top offensive team and did very well against their opponents in college football this year. However, they have not had to face any true top 25 teams in the country this year. Their players on offense have been allowed to gain yards on teams; which are not even true division I teams in college football. Over half of the current teams making up the Pac 10, would not win 1 game, if they had a SEC or ACC football schedule. Ever once in awhile, we see a top tier Pac 10 team, schedule a game against a low SEC or ACC team. They believe this one game a year proves they are just as good as the ACC and SEC in college football.

For those of you who disagree, we can let the players decide this on the field January 10th. We have the best of the SEC and the best of the Pac 10 meeting up against one another. This is really the first true match up ever, that puts these two football conferences against each other on a neutral field. If the Ducks can score 20 points or lose by single digits, they will prove the Pac 10 does belong in the NCAA rankings and the Division I title they sport around each year. Failing to score 20 points or getting blown out, will only go to prove how the Pac 10 is not a true football conference. A lot more than championship titles is on the line in early January. This is a game that features the top offensive team in the nation, who just love running up the score on their opponents. Against an undefeated team from the SEC; which is very rare, since it is to tough to have a perfect record, when you face a quality opponent each week in college football. No major injuries to report for either team and each team will have their main studs in this game. Let’s see how good the nation’s number 1 offense is, when they have to play a quality Division I school in college football.

My prediction has the Auburn Tigers winning this game going away. I say there will be a 20+ point difference and the Oregon team will not have 20 points on the scoreboard; when the 4th quarter begins. Perhaps Auburn pulls their star players and allow Oregon to make the score more respectable at the end? Who knows? What we do know, is the Oregon Ducks will be one of the weakest teams on Auburn’s schedule all year!

Once again, we have so many football fans in the South disregarding the BCS Rankings and the other major rankings in college football. They are just giving too much credit to the Pac 10. No matter what it is in life, there is always a good rule of thumb you can follow. If you ever want to get to the bottom of something, just follow the money. Where does the money in college football lead to? For about a decade now, the boosters and a very wealthy and powerful group associated with the USC Trojan football program is where all the money starts and ends in college football. You can just follow the USC football program over the past few years and see how they continue to get way too much credit, for a program that is mediocre at best.

Go back to Vince Young and their underdog team the Texas Longhorns, facing the mighty Trojans and Matt Leniert, who were easy favorites to win the National Championship. No way did the Longhorns have a chance to win this title game in college football. One team that did match up better against Matt Leniert (who has never found his way in the NFL yet) was the Auburn Tigers. The SEC team from Southern Alabama had a couple of good tailbacks in Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown; along with a talented QB in Jason Campbell. These 3 players from Auburn have all 3 been the starting RB for their NFL teams (Williams – Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Bown – Miami Dolphins) or the starting QB  for his NFL team (Campbell – Washington); while star QB Leniert from USC has not been able to hold a starter or solid back-up role in the NFL. How could these 3 players be kept from a shot at playing a 1 star USC Trojan team in the title game a few years back? This is simple. The Auburn Tigers was the best team that year and the Longhorns or Trojans couldn’t have beat them. It made for a better game to put the 2nd and 3rd place teams in a National Title Game; than to let Auburn play.

The SEC can’t produce undefeated teams. It’s just too tough, with all the good teams in the Southeastern Conference. When one does manage to “luck up” and go undefeated, it’s a no-brainer to put them on the National Stage in the College Championship Football Game. The SEC has won the last 4 college football championships, because the best talent plays in the South. This is a fact and not a bias southern opinion.

What screws everything up, each year, is people like Kirk Herbstreet, who puts way to much of his air-time on TV, to talk and pump up the Nation about the USC team and the other PAC 10 football programs. Herbstreet doesn’t hide the fact he is (or was) a big fan of the USC football program. His ties with Pete Caroll ran deep and not only did Caroll cheat college football and the fans and players associated with the USC Trojan team, but Kirk Herbstreet played a financial role in this college football scam too. Herbstreet has been paid very well for his tongue and the words he has pushed for on the TV air waves. To promote the Country on the super talent, the super teams, and the super program in Southern California; which make up the Pac10 Conference in college football. The truth is the Pac 10 is very weak and for most years over the last decade or so, the Pac 10 isn’t even one of the top 4 NFL Conferences in college football. I think they may have been 5th best conference in 2 of the last 10 years and the other 8 years, clearly not even a top 5 conference in college football.

So who benefits? Well once everything gets pushed and moved around and USC fails to make another appearance in the BCS Title Game, the power shifts and another PAC 10 team gets rewarded for the bogus rankings, that get pushed on to USC and their opponents; which is mainly Pac 10 football teams.

Have I lost you yet? Well with all of that said, you can still break it down year by year and see how USC is the direct blame. It is their group of wealthy fans and boosters; which pay money to the football program and to the players, coaches, media personalities like ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreet, and to those who hold a vote in the college football ranking system. All of this money gets pushed into places, where USC is guaranteed a higher ranking than any other school who matches their season’s record.

Before I can show you how Oregon is the clear number 1 choice in the Rankings (even though they shouldn’t be), I have to show you where USC plays key roles in this year’s cheating scheme of 2010. It’s really hard to understand how USC could have worked their way into the top 25; when there is clearly 30 teams or more in college football, who are better than them.

USC Trojans AP Top 25 – 14th in the Country. The USA Today Rankings don’t even see them as a top 25 team. How does this happen? First, no way did USC have enough coming back from their horrible season last year, to warrant a top 25 spot, much less 14th! USA Today has it right, since this team has a new coach and no big talent returning. This is the PRESEASON RANKINGS.

Week 1 – USC travels to Hawaii and beats them by 13 points. Even though USC gave up 36 points on defense, they beat a 9 – 3 football team on their own field. This is a descent win for USC. The AP drops USC 2 spots to the number 16 team in the country (little unfair and USC should have kept their previous ranking). USA Today Ranking still does not put them in the top 25.

Week 2 – USC wins at home against Virginia who is a 4 and 8 football team this year. USC wins by 3 points (17 to 14) despite this 4 and 8 football team from the ACC gaining more yards than USC and had 4 more first downs; while playing on the road in a hostile environment. The Virginia Cavaliers is one of the weakest teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference and are actually listed last, in their ACC rankings. AP Top 25 drops them down 2 more sports (deserved it) and the USA Today still does not have them on the Top 25 radar, after winning their first two games. Seems to be a big difference in opinion. One system starts at 14 and now has them 18 with 2 wins and the other just ignores them.

Week 3- USC beats an unranked Minnesota team by 11 points on the road. Now things are getting strange! USC drops 2 more spots in the AP Top 25??? A poll that saw them as the 14th best team in the country and this 14th ranked team wins their first two games, two descent road wins and a shameful home win and again USC drops 2 spots to number 20 in the country. The guys at USA Today still don’t see wasting their ink on them and USC fails for again to make the top 25 teams here.

Week 4- USC travels to Washington State and blows out a 2-9 Pac 10 team. Now the AP 25 Poll awards USC for this win and moves them back up 2 spots to the number 18 team in the country. This is disturbing that USC beats 3 non-Pac10 teams and drop 2 spots each week. Suddenly a Pac 10 opponent appears on the schedule and they get awarded 2 spots in the poll for beating them? USA Today still leaves USC off their rankings. A 4-0 team is not ranked on USA Today; while the AP has kept them in the top 20 all year long and gave them lots of help, by ranking them 14th in the preseason polls. Things really begin to stink here, if it wasn’t already, and here is proof the Pac 10 gets too much credit in football. The AP Poll has found a way to take a shot at the ACC; while giving the Pac 10 a boost. USC loses 2 spots for beating a weak ACC team. Then turns around and awards them 2 spots for beating a weak Pac 10 school. This is part of the math calculations and cheating; which takes place on the Pac 10 side of things in college football.

Week 5-  USC suffers their first loss of the season. They get beat at home by Washington (Pac10 school) . The Huskies are a 5 and 6 team and a below .500 team has just went into USC and beat them on their own home field. You know USA Today will keep them off the list for another week and the AP 25 finally is able to push them off of their list and now the USC Trojans are no longer ranked on anyone’s list as a top 25 school. As you can see, overall record of 4 and 1 isn’t bad, but no competition and with a weak schedule, they have lost 1 home game and won another home game by 3 points, to the worse ACC Team.

Week 6- USC losses for a 2nd straight week. Finally they play a rank team in number 16 Stanford, but should Stanford be the 16th best team in the country at this point? USC and Stanford both had the same record at 4 and 1. USC unranked; while Stanford was all the way up in 16th place with their 4 wins over Sacramento State, UCLA, Wake Forrest, and Notre Dame. They did not have a win over any top 25 team and their 1 loss was to a Pac 10 team Oregon. In comparison, the South Carolina Gamecocks (SEC school) had played 1 less game on the schedule, but they had 1 loss to Auburn and had beat number 22 Georgia (top 25 school). South Carolina is number 19 in the country with a win over a top 25 team; while Stanford has beat no top 25 teams. Right here is a problem. Stanford from a weaker PAC 10 conference is being given more credit than a SEC school; when the SEC team has a victory over a top 25 team. So Stanford because a PAC 10 springboard; which this conference needs, so they can keep up with the SEC. No poll has USC ranked for a 2nd straight week.

Week 7- After losing two straight, USC gets back to winning against a Pac 10 California team who is unranked. The Golden Bears is a 5 and 7 team this year, so another team below .500 for this year. Nothing impressive here and neither poll awards USC for their win; which they shouldn’t have.

Week 8 – USC’ BYE WEEK – The team played against no one. Both polls keep USC unranked.

Week 9 – Time to play the number 1 team in the country. Nice for USC to have a bye week, before such an important game. Oregon comes in to USC’s stadium and beats them by 21 points. If you beat a team by 21 points, that’s a convincing win, right? If you beat them by this margin on their own home field, it leaves no room for doubt, that this was a solid win and the home team deserves no credit. However, we now see USC move back into the top 25 AP poll? How could this be? Sure you played the number 1 team in the nation, so you’re expected to get beat. If you only get beat by a field goal or a touchdown, it could show some signs of strength. This did NOT happen! USC got beat by 3 touchdowns and they had home field advantage! Some interesting stats developed in this game too.

*Oregon produced exactly 222 more yards on offense than USC did. That is amazing in it self, but what if I told you that the USC Trojans had the ball on offense for 5 minutes and 10 seconds longer than the Oregon Ducks? Did the Pac10 officials try to help USC win this game? USC had 3 flags threw at them the whole game and they got penalized for only 22 yards. While Oregon got flagged 8 times for 85 yards. Oregon almost had 3 times as many flags against them; and was 3 yards shy of having 4 times the amount of yardage subtracted from them. I believe the Pac 10 officials working this game, was in favor and took bribes to try and help the home team USC to win this game or at least to keep it close.

History of USC Flags and Penalty Yards Before the Oregon Game:

1. @ Hawaii -  11 Flags = 100 yards

2. Virginia – 13 Flags = 150 yards

3. @ Minnesota – 7 Flags = 71 yards

4. @ Washington State -  5 Flags = 39 yards (Opponent 2 flags = 15 yards) Refs Let Them Play Here

5. Washington -  5 Flags = 49 yards

6. @ Stanford – 8 Flags – 53 yards

7. California – 8 Flags – 54 yards

8. Oregon – 3 Flags – 22 yards (opponent 8 flags = 85 yards) Either 1st or 2nd game for USC to have lower flags/penalty yards than their opponent.

I won’t push too much on the corruption angle here. Even though USC got the bye week before playing Oregon and the referees did lend more help to the Trojan football team; than their northern Pac 10 opponents got. Oregon did have 9 days to prepare for this game, but USC still got 5 more, as they benefited from a full two weeks of preparations.

The main point I wanted to make about the bye week and the ref’s giving USC all the calls, is the fact, that USC still lost this game by a considerable margin.

*Homefield Advantage

*Awarded 63 More Yards by Officials wth Penalty Flags

*Controlled Ball on Offense 5+ Minutes

These 3 things in a football game, can help a team to win or make it a closer game than it should. USC got beat by 21 points and gave up 50+ points, to a team that had the football 5 less minutes than they did. In no way should USC should have moved up in the polls.

Now comes the most disturbing part of my debate. I have walked you guys through each week of the season up to this point. After USC loses this game to the number 1 Oregon team, I have them calculated as moving up from no rankings in the AP Top 25, to the number 24 team in the Country. I know my “Week 1″ , “Week 2″, etc.. might be a little confusing, but I first showed the preseason ranking with USC number 14 in the AP Top 25 Poll. Then I start with “Week 1″ for the first game USC played. Based on that result, I go ahead and include the Sunday ranking decision on my Week 1 statements.

If you tracked this online at Yahoo, you would see they go from a “preseason ranking” to a “2″, “3″, “4″, etc… They never list “1″ on their rankings; while I did include a Week 1 on mine.

If you go to Yahoo Sports and look at Oregon’s season, you will see they got credit for beating the 24th ranked USC Trojans on their schedule. I don’t think this happened and I believe USC became 24, after losing to Oregon. I know, I know, that doesn’t make much sense, so obviously I am the one who is wrong and Yahoo has it listed correctly.

If this is true and I am wrong, it only goes to prove my corruption point further with the NCAA, Pac10, and the AP Top 25 Ranking. Why? Because let’s remember what happened to USC before the Oregon game. Nothing! Absolutely nothing happened before Oregon rolls into the Coliseum at USC, because the Trojans had a bye week!

So is the AP Top 25 Poll, trying to convince college teams, coaches, players, and college football fans; that the USC Trojans actually deserved to move up, not 1 to number 25, but up 2 spots from a unranked position, to the number 24 team in the Country, on their bye week?

SEC Teams are commonly losing ground in the rankings; on their bye weeks. It is not uncommon at all for a team who doesn’t play one Saturday, to actually lose spots. To move up, by not playing, would call for a lot of special circumstances. The USC Trojans had only played one team in the top 25 and that was Stanford, who was ranked 16 without a top 25 win; while South Carolina was 19th and they did have a top 25 win. In Stanford’s defense, you can give them credit, since South Carolina had a bye week and had played 1 less game. But if you go that route, it only hurts USC even more, by moving them up 2 spots; while they took a week off from college football.

Oregon has been given credit for beating a top 25 team (24 USC); while USC was ranked at number 18 in the AP, they lost their WEEK 5 Ranking; when they got beat by Washington. WEEK 6 Rankings show USC as an unranked team. They lose to Stanford for back to back loses, and continue to not be ranked in WEEK 7. They get back to winning and beat California, but the AP doesn’t view this as a quality win, and in WEEK 8, the USC Trojans are still not ranked. Now USC goes into their bye week, and the new rankings come out; which vault USC to number 24??? They moved up at least 2+ spots, to number 24 after playing nobody. Over their last 4 weeks of college football, they have lost 2 games, beat a California team, who had 2 losses and no wins over a top 25 school, and a bye week, and was not vaulted to any where after the California win, but received more credit, when they just didn’t play?

This is an obvious attempt, by the AP Poll and their voters, to give the Oregon team, a top 25 win. Oregon should not have credit for beating a top 25 team; when USC moved into number 24, after a bye week. You just can’t go from unranked to suddenly top 24 ranked, with a bye. Even with faulty top 25 win, does Oregon’s resume still look better than the Auburn Tigers? Not only does Oregon have the benefits of being ranked as the number 1 team getting ready to play the number 24 Trojans, but the AP at this point, has Boise State in 2nd place with 11 first place votes to Auburn’s 3 votes! And Oregon with 44 first place votes!

1. Oregon – 44 first place votes – 1 Top 25 Win (Stanford)

2. Boise State – 11 first place votes – 2 Top 25 Wins (Oregon State & Virginia Tech)

3. Auburn – 3 first place votes – 3 Top 25 Wins (South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU)

Now obviously the AP Voters are given some credit for margin of victory, as they should. But let’s keep in mind, this is the standings and votes after 8 games. Oregon has played only 1 top 25 school in 8 games and Auburn has met 3 top 25 schools in their first 8 games. Almost half of Auburn’s schedule has been with ranked opponents, so it’s a little tougher to win by wide margins, when you’re facing tougher opponents.

Auburn’s unranked opponents consist of teams like Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Clemson. They had 2 easy opponents in Arkansas State and and Louisiana Monroe; which they beat both easy by a combine score of 104 to 29.

Now let’s look at Oregon’s unranked teams, since they have 7 on their list, compared to 5 for Auburn. The good unranked teams Oregon beat in their first 8 games; were really no one!  Oregon beat Tennessee, who was able to win their last 4 games of the season to finish at .500. So Oregon really played the Volunteers when they were at their worse. Oregon beat Arizona State and they were 5 and 6 this season. Oregon beat the UCLA Bruins from the Pac 10 who was 4 and 7 this season. Oregon had wins over Portland State and New Mexico who finished a combine 3 wins and 20 loses for the season. And the only other win was against Washington State from the Pacific 10 Division in college football, who was 2 and 9 this season. After 8 games into the college football season, we have a team who beat a top 25 team and 1 team with a .500 record. They had 6 wins over teams who were under .500 and 2 teams with 2 wins and 2 teams with 1 win!

How exactly do you award 41 more first place votes to a team like that, against an Auburn team who has played 3 top 25 teams. Then won against a 8 -4 Mississippi State team, who is now ranked 22 in the country, really giving Auburn 4 wins over top 25 teams in their first 8 games. They beat 2 more .500 teams in Kentucky and Clemson. Beat Louisiana Monroe who had a 5 and 7 record this year and beat Arkansas State who had a 4 and 8 record. Auburn’s worse team two teams were 5 and 4 win teams. While Oregon played two 1 win teams.  Move up the ladder to the next two games and Auburn defeats a SEC and a ACC team (Kentucky and Clemson), who both finished with .500 records in two tough football conferences; while Oregon’s ladder goes into the 2 win teams. I mean really, Oregon played 4 teams in their first 8 games that finished the season with 2 wins or less. Auburn never played an opponent in those first 8 weeks of the season, who would end this year with 4 wins or more.

It’s important to point to this out, because Auburn’s competition level is 100X stronger than what Oregon had to face in these first 8 weeks and yet, they found 41 more first place votes! It’s just ridiculous and even more ridiculous when you see how USC made their way into the top 25, right before the Oregon game on a bye week.

Anyone in the country can compare the Auburn schedule with the Oregon schedule and see which team has faced tougher opponents. Yet, Oregon is ranked number 1 in the country and plays a weak in-state rival with Oregon State; which Herbstreet was quick to point out Saturday night, how this game is not a cake walk for Oregon, even though Oregon State had just got beat 38 to 0 earlier in the day. While once again, Auburn has the cards stacked up against them, as they have to face another top 25 team and play them on a neutral field in Atlanta, Georgia for the SEC Championship Game.

Auburn has already had to sit out of a championship game; while having a perfect season. No fair to make them jump through any more hurdles; when they have clearly deserved the first place votes and should be number 1 right now with a wide lead and some wiggle room.

Right now it is a cool, sunny day at my house, on a Saturday afternoon. I was thinking back to my childhood days and trying to remember what I use to do on my Saturday afternoons. Back then, we only had 1 day a week, where cartoons would come on television. If you didn’t get up on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons, you wouldn’t get a chance to see them again, until the next Saturday rolled around. So all kids would get out of bed on Saturdays to watch cartoons. Once the noon hour arrived on Saturday, most of the cartoons had ended for the day. Some TV stations would begin showing children’s programs, but they weren’t animated. Just your basic 30 minute sitcoms. Generally there wasn’t too many to watch, but if you got lucky, you might could see 2 or 3 of these non-animated programs for kids.

Small Wonder Theme Song

Remember this show? What about the show that featured a girl who was half human and half alien? She could freeze time, by putting her two fingers together. Did you ever see this one?

I remember a few of these shows back then. I know a TV show called Out of this World, was one of the shows you could catch on a Saturday afternoon, back in the 1980′s. The main girl in this show was named Evie and she had special powers and could stop time. It was a pretty popular show and found its way in the syndication network, where it got showed a lot and on different TV channels. Another show back in this time period was Small Wonder. For some reason, it never was as popular as the other children’s programs from the 80′s generation. I remembered this title “Small ‘Wonder” but couldn’t really remember what this TV show was about. So I started to look around online and now after refreshing my memory a bit, I clearly remember watching this TV show.

The TV show Small Wonder was based on a 10 year-old girl, who was really a robot. Her TV dad from the show worked at United Robotronics, a fictional company for the show. Vicki the robot was played by actress Tiffany Brissette. The dad was asked at work to bring the robot home and allow her to live with a real human family, in the hopes she would become more human. I was able to find a episode of Small Wonder online. I have them down below in two 10 minute segments, so you can see the full episode. You Tube only allows users to upload user generated material in 10 minute sections or less. So just start with part 1 and you can see the remainder of Small Wonder in the video labeled part 2 below. This episode of Small Wonder is called the Boss’s Daughter. Enjoy!

Small Wonder – Boss’s Daughter Part 1

Small Wonder – Boss’s Daughter Part 2

I had a good time watching this episode of Small Wonder. I believe the kids of today, would enjoy watching some of these classic TV shows from the earlier days. All of the kids now, who are 20 years-old or younger, has probably never seen Small Wonder or some of these other TV shows we use to watch growing up. TV Land on television does a good job at trying to air some of these classic TV programs. They might not always select the ones you want to watch or you have one that you can’t remember the name of.

Most adults have at least 1 program they remember watching as a kid, but have no idea what it was called. They can only remember small bits of information and would really like to know the title or be able to see it again. I would like to try and help others relive their childhoods, from TV shows they use to watch. If you would like to track down a TV show you use to watch on television as a kid, please leave a reply and I will try to help.

I am currently trying to learn all of the popular and not so popular programs; which use to come on TV. If you was watching TV in the 1970′s, 1080′s, or in the 1990′s as a kid, I might be able to help. As I become more familiar with a lot of these classic television shows, my memory will be more fresh than most. You may be able to give me a few simple hints and I might can name the show, without searching for any information on it. I do have a lot of ways of tracking down these older TV programs and I am trying to learn a few new tricks, so I can help others find their childhood memories, that they left with some TV show that they can’t name today.

What I need for you to do, is leave me as many clues as possible. Try to estimate the years, in which you was watching this TV show. Let me know if you remember the channel, like ABC, CBS, or NBC. We really only had 3 main TV stations back then, but for the newer shows of the 1990′s, giving me the channel or network can help a lot. Let me also know if you remember watching this show in the weekday mornings, afternoons, or nights. Or perhaps it was a weekend TV show and you can let me know it aired on a Saturday or Sunday and if it was at night or daytime. The geography is another good piece of information to tell me about. Remembering which state or what the weather conditions were like. Tell me about any character names or give character descriptions too. If you remember a certain scene, then try to write it out the best you can. You never know which clue will help me to identify your childhood TV show, so please leave all bits of information.

I will try to help each person who leaves a reply and gives me some clues to go on, about a TV show they use to watch growing up, but now have no idea what the name of it was. I’m here to help recover those lost childhood memories and I will do my best for each person. These childhood memories are important for us to remember and it can really be fun, when you finally get to solve a mystery from TV that has bugged you for all of these years. The only thing I need to do now on my end, is come up with a title for my position, of trying to help people remember their childhood memories.

Let me know if you like any of these titles:

A. The Classic TV Investigator?

B. The TV Memories Man?

C. The Childhood TV Memories Dude?

D. The TV Mystery Solver?

E. Other?

Feel free to help me come up with a title for the services I hope to provide to others. What are the services you’re providing? I am going to try and find out the name of classic TV show, in which a person can only remember small bits of information about. People that hope to solve their childhood TV mysteries from the 70′s, 80′s, or even the 90′s; just need to leave me with as many memories or details they can, about these TV shows that don’t come on television anymore. After you leave me everything you know. I will go out and use a variety of different tactics and tools I have access to, so I can come back and tell a person the name of their TV show, provide some information about it, and possibly may be able to dig up a clip, from an old episode, so I can show these people the show they use to like watching as a kid. So if you are ready to solve your childhood TV memories, just leave a reply here and I will get the ball rolling. Please be sure to leave your correct email address; when you leave a reply, so I can ask you questions or seek more information, if I run into any barriers or problems. The more I continue to do this, the more I will learn about classic TV programs, so in some cases, just 1 small clue might be enough for me to solve your TV mystery.

Each week, the folks from Buy.com conveniently lists a variety of products on their weekly sales page. Online shoppers can quickly check-in each week, to see what they have on sale, for any given week. To locate these special bargains on the Internet, just go to Buy.com and look for their Weekly Deals section. From there you will see a number of different things, which can be bought for less than their already low prices.

No big surprises that Buy.com would be offering several different things in the video game department, on this Black Friday in November. I’m not sure the exact year on when the video game craze started with the popular gaming systems, like the PS3 or Playstation 3 and its rival gaming console, the Xbox 360. It is true that video games have been the top seller for over a decade now; when it comes to holiday gifts for kids and adults, in the entertainment section. I don’t believe a parent could go wrong with either one of these choices, if they are out searching for a new video game for their kids this Christmas. I have owned a Playstation before (the first one), but I have never got to try the Xbox.

I believe, I would select the Xbox Video Game, if I were buying for myself. I also saw this cool-looking Xbox 360 Chatpad for video gamers to have a way to input text. I don’t know if this is the first keyboard for a video game, but it is certainly the first video game keyboard I have seen.

Now gamers can use a full keyboard system to communicate with other players. This is just one of the video game accessories you can find at Buy.com today. They have other popular accessories to offer consumers too. The newest video games or controllers to get with your 360 Xbox or another gaming system, is also up for grabs today. I have already seen a large increase in online traffic today.

Remember this is Black Friday and the day shoppers are suppose to go offline and buy up all the deals at the real stores and shopping malls. This next Monday we will see in late November is what we call Cyber Monday. This will be the busiest day of the year, for online traffic, as most consumers will be shopping online. Judging by the amount of traffic I am seeing today online, I believe we could see some major online retailers and other websites shutting down this Monday. As the herd of online shoppers, all come online at the same time. I have problems with checking my emails on the weekends, so I fully expect to have a few email issues on Cyber Monday. Good luck with your bargain hunts online or offline. If you do have the Xbox currently hooked up to your television at home, see if this 360 Chat Pad for the Xbox is something you or your child needs.

*Good News and Bad News*

The Xbox 360 Chatpad is in stock and ready to be shipped out for FREE shipping and handling! This is the good news. In order to keep this hot, new keyboard item in stock, for other families who like to shop at Buy.com, there is a limit of 2 Xbox Keyboard Chat Pads per order. This is the bad news, if you were needing 3 or more of these Xbox accessory items.

Thanks for the guest post by Bradly Watkins

The best part about preseason NBA basketball is watching my team and getting excited about the coming year. With nothing really on the line, I can watch the team without fear, and still maintain hope that they are merely sandbagging it when the Lakers come into town and crush the team by 30 points. I mean, my team is just playing coy. The Lakers could win by sixty points and it won’t count, because it’s the preseason.

My favorite team is the Utah Jazz. Now you might think that I am a Mormon and pasty because I am a Jazz fan, and you’d be absolutely right. Then again, that doesn’t mean I don’t have an appreciation for jazz music and basketball. Nope, I love my Jazz and I love Jerry Sloan. I have Karl Malone posters on my wall, and my love for John Stockton borders on inappropriate, but thanks to my religious views I have kept my distance from him and his family for the time being. In any case, although the Jazz will be terrible this year, as Al Jefferson is vastly overrated, in the preseason I can leave my fingernails nice and un-chewed because I don’t have to worry like I do when it’s the playoffs, and believe me, Jazz fans are absolutely insane. You should hear me scream at my directstartv when the games are on, it is not pretty.

I appreciate the guest post, Rodrigo Coffey

The Boston Celtics are my all time favorite basketball team. I bleed green and even have a Celtic Pride tattoo on my forearm that shows my love for the Boston Celtics basketball team. Me and my wife were able to watch Preseason NBA Basketball on satellite TV from satelite.com and had some concerns about the way the Celtics played.

The Boston Celtics will be a very dominate team this year and they actually stand a good chance of winning the Atlantic Coast conference, but we were concerned because they seemed to be wanting to have the team revolve around Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq has normally been a very explosive player, who could dominate almost any basketball court, but he is beginning to age and injuries are becoming more common.

If a serious injury is to occur which is very likely, then Shaq could be sidelined for most of the season. If Shaq is unable to play then the team needs to focus on all their other players. One of the problems is that if Shaq is inured and then late in the season comes back to start, he may mess up the chemistry that the other players have made.

I hope Shaq is able to play without any injuries but in my heart I feel he will have either multiple minor injuries or one big injury. Shaq is getting old, especially by NBA standard but he can still have good season. I hope his play will emphasize the athletic abilities of the other players and not revolve simply around him.

Hollywood is famous for creating high school and college movies that get played by 20 and 30 year old Hollywood stars. In these movies where they can’t even get teens to play out the roles, it is creating a bad situation for our teenagers in high school. They fall into the party life that Hollywood creates and try to live up to a lifestyle that doesn’t exist for any normal teens. Only the rich and famous teens can keep up with the lifestyle Hollywood is creating on the big screen.

Often there is drugs and other things these movies contain, which set a bad example for the youth of America. We have let Hollywood get away with things for too long. It’s time we make these big blockbuster movies stand up and be accounted for the silly behaviors they cause with our kids. These movies constantly offer the worse solutions and answers to real teen problems. A teen who is struggling to fit in, is suddenly popular in the eyes of Hollywood, when they develop some illegal way to become popular. This message gets sent out daily to our kids in America, that fitting in comes with doing illegal things in our society. Not only should these teen movies stand up and be accounted for, but we as parents should make a stand too. To let these film makers know, they are setting bad examples for our youth in the main streets of this country.

Modern ways of communicating is causing problems for all ages. No one knows how to conduct their self properly online. When we have adults who mis use things like Twitter and MySpace, how do we expect kids to use them properly? There is a lot of blame to go around, but no doubt the Internet and Hollywood movies are at the root of a lot of these problems, we see for teens today.

Late night television has came to TBS or Turner Broadcasting Station, thanks to the help of Latino George Lopez. His late night TV show on TBS, the George Lopez Show proved everyone wasn’t watching ABC, CBS, and NBC late at night. While many view David Letterman on CBS as the staple and Jay Leno the 2nd runner up, this isn’t true anymore. Late night TV watchers will find more entertainment, by tuning in to Conan O’Brien at 11 p.m. local time and then followed by the George Lopez Show at midnight. Both talk shows will come on for a 2nd viewing, right after the 1st showing of Lopez each night.

According to the George Lopez Show, both his fans and Conan O’Brien’s fans both hate Jay Leno. NBC made a big mistake in choosing Jay Leno (the quitter) over Conan (who waited his turn and did well) for the prime time slot on NBC’s late night talk shows. It was November 8th; when Conan made his TBS debut. You can tell by his strong cast of guest stars, that many are on his side against the NBC network. His 2nd show featured Tom Hanksand it was a clear indication that Hanks and O’Brien are banning NBC’s Jay Leno Show. Other Hollywood stars might want to understand this late night TV feud better and not choose to appear on the Jay Leno Show. Anyone appearing on Jay Leno will be subject to a red carpet ban, as far as late night TV fans are concerned.

It’s great to see Conan getting more fans and bigger lines for his TBS cable show; than Jay Leno’s NBC show; which appears on a regular network like NBC. While Conan mailed it in Thursday night, after 3 strong shows to start his TBS career, he was picked up by his partner in late night television. This is because George Lopez had stars such asDenzel Washington, Wayne Newton, Hillary Duff, Jerry Springer, and former NBA player Rick Foxon his show, after Conan’s Thursday night episode on TBS.

More Hollywood stars should consider the best tandem in Late Night TV by appearing on Conan or CoCo as Tom Hanks has given this nickname to Conan O’Brien. These two great shows on TBS is much better than NBC has to offer. At least on the Monday through Friday schedule and luckily they have Saturday Night Live to bring back late night TV fans on this weekend night. No one wants to watch David Letterman or Jan Leno on NBC. Jimmy Kimmel is a better talk show host than Jay Leno. Some fans may want to watch Jimmy Kimmel live and then tape the 2nd airings of Conan and the George Lopez show for watching the next day. Either way, the biggest loser in talk shows late night is NBC and their front man who will be looking to quit again in the near future Jay Leno. That’s right, you can catch the real Biggest Loser on NBC once a week and their other biggest loser Jay Leno 5 times per week. If you want to watch the best late night entertainment in television these days. Just switch over to TBS and get a glimpse of Conan O’Brien and his sidekick Andy Richter. Fans get treated to a great 2nd TV show with the George Lopez show; which follows Conan O’Brien. Hopefully all Hollywood stars will recognize this and want to appear on Conan and George, more than the Jay Leno show; which is just another version of NBC’s Biggest Loser.

Guest written by our friend Jan Chandler

Every year I go with my buddies to the county fair to enjoy the rides, games and shows. Each year they have different things going on whether they be musical guests, dance productions or animals. You’re probably thinking animals? But yeah, one year they had pony rides while another year they had sheep and you’d sheer them for wool or whatever.

Personally, I prefer the games and rides. Though the games aren’t nearly as fun if you don’t have someone to win prizes for. They almost always have the classic throwing balls to knock down cans, tossing a ring or shooting baskets. They also usually have some hammer the mole or strength test game. This year they added some shooter style games, although I didn’t play them. I still enjoy most of the rides. I usually get nauseous on those theme park rides, but the ones at the county fair have far less force, making them much more easier to handle. My favorite has always been what is called Galvatron where you go into this tiny disc like room and it spins around and you float in the area like there is no gravity.

Another aspect I enjoy about the County Fair is all the food and business shops. People sell homemade trinkets, crafts, flowers, etc.,. I always end up spending most of my money there. I admit, I’m not as spry as I used to be, so I plan on leaving a little early this year and watching some directv.

A lot of gamers have been waiting for this game to come out. While the movie has been out for a while now, the video game is just now going on sale! If you have been looking for Call of Duty – Black Ops; then I know where you can place your order now and reserve your copy! Just swing by Buy.com today sometime and go ahead and get your order in, so you can be at the top of the list, for this new video game.

This is the special Prestige Edition version; which I am highlighting on sale at Buy.com. This version of the game will contain several more things, the normal version won’t have included. The best way to insure you have everything from this hot, new video game. Is to consider buying the Prestige Edition of Call of Duty. This Black Ops game is still not officially out to the public yet. It will be only 5 more days and sometime on November the 9th; this Call of Duty Video Game becomes available to the public. I really think this game will sell out in a lot of locations. You can avoid these problems, if you go ahead now and reserve your copy of Black Ops today.

Has all the fans of Call of Duty – Black Ops watched the movie? I guess the attraction to the movie is what is leading most of this hype, about a game, which has not even went on sale yet? It won’t be too much longer and everyone will be able to find a copy of this game in a store near you (hopefully). If you must play this game as soon as possible; then you might want to look for midnight sales going on. There may be some electronic stores; which will stay open past midnight, so they can start handing this hot game out to everyone. I’m not sure what a store with 24 hours-a-day store hours are planning to do, for this new video game. That could be one possibility of a midnight sale, for the Call of Duty Game; which goes on sale November 9th. The easiest way to lock up this game now, is to pre-order online and this helps to avoid places, who have sold out of this new Call of Duty game. How soon do you plan to buy this new Black Ops Video Game?

While the latest trends have been geared to showing us old programs from the past, there is one I never really see. The show that had Soleli Moon Frye as the little orphan girl called Punky Brewster. She had no family, until it was Henry who took her in. I’m pretty sure Henry was the old man’s name and the name of Punky’s dog was Brandon. This was a TV show which came out when I was still a kid. So not sure if it fits today’s time, but I really don’t see why it wouldn’t?

I can’t remember too many episodes, but the few I do recall, should do good in today’s market. On a TV station like TV Land, who likes to show the older television programs. I believe Punky Brewster did try a comeback at one time, because I thought I saw this show about 10 or 12 years ago. It must have not got the ratings, to stay on the air.

However, little Punky Brewster has grown up and for fans of her, you have had the chance to watch Soleli Moon Frye grow up and star in other programs on TV. Just recently, Soleli Moon Frye was appearing on the Doctors TV Show and talking about the Alzheimer’s disease. She has a great story; which I believe a lot of people would want to hear. Her father was suffering from this awful disease called Alzheimer’s. However, most people try to hide the affects of Alzheimer’s from their family. Since Punky Brewster’s Dad or Soleli Moon Frye’s Dad was a actor, it was a lot harder to pick up with him, as he would tried to hide the Alzheimer’s side effects. She says her dad is going through the final stages now and doesn’t even know who she is. This is just one of the many Alzheimer’s stories out there and just about everyone has heard of at least one story. The thing Soleli Moon Frye thought was important and wanted everyone to know, is the fact Alzheimer isn’t for grandparents and great grandparents. This disease has no age limits and it is something that affects us all. More time and money needs to be put toward the research and funding for a Alzheimer’s cure.

The Atlanta Hawks have seemed to get a little worse each time out, but always seem to walk off the court as winners. The ball movement was great early on and led to other teams having a lot of problems. As of late, they have slowed things down and went back to “Woody Ball” which is not a good sign to see.

Hopefully the Atlanta Hawks will play a faster tempo of game this year. On offense they need to move the ball around and avoid guys hanging on to it, for long stretches at a time. Josh Smith continues to be amazing and has been the true leader for this team. As long as he stays out of foul trouble, the Hawks can beat any team in the league, with him on the floor.

Coach Drew has not done anything drastic with the team. This has made the transition so much easier for the guys. You would expect them to win games, with very little changes put into place so far. I would have preferred a much more drastic change; which would have took half the season to really show what these changes could develop into. Hopefully more things get added to the offense and they can become a much more consistent force in the National Basketball League. I think the guys play their best ball, when they try to run other teams off the court. Currently there is only a few teams that could match up well against them, if they did choose to play this fast-tempo style of basketball every night. Hopefully when they face the Orlando Magic, they will run Dwight Howard to the bench and not allow him to become a factor in the game for the Magic team.

Atlanta will play again Tuesday night in Cleveland, where they try to beat a Cavs team that no longer has LeBron James. It should be a good game and this will be the biggest test for this team so far, in the early 2010 NBA season. Fingers are crossed for a 4-0 start for the Atlanta Hawks. Good job fellas!

Dish Wins Lockout - Sports TV Back!

The days of Rupert Murdoch and his huge company News Corporation trying to bully the TV industry are quickly coming to an end. The power from Murdoch’s Company trying to force Dish Network customers into paying most of the satellite costs; while letting Directv escape any rate increases won’t work! Why? Because Dish Network refused to give in, to these bullying tactics, in which News Corporation and Fox Network supported; along side their greedy leader Rupert Murdoch.

Fox Sports has had a rough month. After not getting approved for their attempts to steal money from Dish customers, on the days right before October 1st. They demanded their sports channels to be pulled from the Dish Network line-up of sports programming. The Dish company urged Fox Sports to leave the channels up; while they continued with the negotiations, between the two parties. Nope, the over-confident folks in charge over at Fox said they wanted their channels off the Dish Network now! They are the ones who had absolutely no respect for you and didn’t care if you were going to miss your college football games or any of the MLB games; as baseball played their final regular season games of the year.

This was NOT Dish Network who pulled the plug and left sports fans without access to their local sports programming. Fox Sports had full confidence, the largest satellite company in the land, would give-in and meet their rate increases. They just knew Dish would not want to face their customers, if they couldn’t offer them their favorite local sports team. The pressure from angry satellite subscribers is what Fox Sports was counting on, so they could get away with their new rate increases, which were more than 50% higher!

So with no options or room to talk like civilized business people, the only thing Dish Network could legally do, was to honor the requests of the owners of Fox Sports. Which was to terminate their sports channels immediately from the Dish Network family of channels. When Dish customers turned on their TV sets and saw there was no sports to be watched, a lot of initial reactions and blame went toward the Dish Network Company. Which was really unfair to them, since it was the Fox Network and News Corporation folks who had actually pulled the plug.

I am one of the biggest sports fans you will find. I love all of my local pro and college sports teams. Not having access to these Fox Sports Channels was every bit as rough for me, if not rougher, than any other sports fans out there, who was dealing with this Fox Blackout. I immediately wanted to see what was going on. Who was to blame? What options do I have? How much longer will this Dish Blackout last? I was in a high-speed panic mode and had no idea what my research and investigations was going to find, in this Sports Blackout; which was going on between Dish and Fox Sports.

One of the first things I was able to find out for sure, was the company responsible for the blackout. It was Fox Sports who demanded to Dish Network, for them to pull their channels off the air. Dish Network was not left with any choices at this point, so by laws governing the air waves in America, the satellite company took away these sports channels.

After learning how the end came to be, I wanted to know what Dish Network had did wrong, for them to even be put in this situation. I was ready to uncover these Dish mistakes and highlight them online, for everyone to know what led to the Fox Network’s decision to pull these channels off the air, in such a brute and angry manner.

Well it’s hard to explain each and every detail, but if you wanted to try and put it in a nutshell; I guess you could say Dish Network’s mistake, was not having Rupert Murdoch for a owner or TV partner? I know that may sound a little lame, but you can’t even imagine how the real details of this 21st century high-tech battle for television revenues played out.

It all started with the recession in this country; which we are not just beginning to work our way out of it. Since these hard times in our nation’s financial troubles, we are not as rich as we use to be. Our country does not hold the wealth it once did just 5 or 10 years ago. At least 1 million college educated employees, who had been working for the same company for at least 1 year, was suddenly out of a job and having trouble finding a new one. As people lost their jobs, they could no longer afford to pay for their monthly mortgage bills. While banks were foreclosing on these home owners in debt, they were left with no loan payments coming in for their spending money. Finally the whole thing just caved in and the Government had to step in and start bailing companies out and pumping money into the economy with the stimulus package.

Now I know most of you know this story, because we all lived through it. In one way or another, the recession has affected all of our lives and in many cases, it is still uncertain how we will get our next job or pay check. Everybody in the United States of America knew this country was in financial trouble and just how unstable the Amercian home and family are right now. The fabric of our society is being held together by a paper thin thread. The slighest trouble for any industry these days, could have a domino-effect on an entire sector of the market. While we all know this as Americans, it seemed the people running Fox Sports had no knowledge of Americans losing jobs and homes.

The reason I know Fox Sports knew nothing about the recession or troubles facing Americans today, is because they asked for Dish Network customers to pay for their expensive homes, luxury cars, corporate office buildings, and other expenses they have acquired; while operating their sports programming around the country. All the executives from Fox Sports did, was to figure out their bills and how much money their company owed in expenses and how much money they would need to maintain their comfortable lifestyles. Once they got their dollar figure of the money they needed to make, it was time to bill their customers, who were using their television sports services.

Since Rupert Murdoch, had ties with Fox, News Corporation, and Directv, they would not be asking for any pay increases from these customers, who were related to Murdoch services. The satellite company called Directv would be free of any pay increases or rate hikes, so their satellite services and prices could stay competitive with their biggest competitor Dish Network. While not increasing the Fox Sports rates for Directv Customers any, the Dish Network customers would see a rate hike, and they could just finish paying off the bill; for the money figure Fox Sports needed to operate on and to maintain luxury lifestyles.

 

What Fox Sports didn’t realize, they were trying to increase Dish customer’s rates by more than 50%! And they were shocked when Dish Network refused to accept these outrageous charges? After seeing all of this, I knew the culprit was Fox Sports and they had been the blame from the start. So what finally caused Fox Sports to give in?

Well after Dish not only refuses to pay higher rates, they are also left with 0 money owed to Fox Sports. In order to survive this sports blackout, they would have to increase rates to Directv customers and advertisers. Which Directv would not be too happy with and why would advertisers pay more; when their TV ads would be seen by less people? The World in which Fox Sports executives were living-in, no longer exists now. They were the last group in America to be affected by the recession. Now what future costs will Fox Sports be paying for their childish and spoiled rich ways?

All advertisers who are seeking advertisements on television today, do want to continue avoid Fox Sports, the Fox News Channel, the local Fox stations, and the Fox Business Channel. Any TV channel that has the Fox name attached to it, is not a safe or wise long-term choice for advertising. The situation at Fox Sports is still very unsteady and they are not out of the woods yet. They still have to reconcile with the NCAA, Major League Baseball, NHL Hockey, and the National Basketball Association; which has just started up their season and was unable to bring their first games of the season to Dish Network sports fans, because Fox Sports blacked them out.

Advertising on Fox TV Stations is NOT recommended. The sports world is going to have a long talk with Fox Sports for their senseless acts and all the problems they caused for them self and sports fans who missed out on their favorite teams playing. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the NBA and MLB go to other networks and if this happens, don’t expect the NHL to hang around either. Fox Sports will be working their way out of this deep hole for a long time to come and I will be directing advertisers away from Fox Sports and Fox Channels every chance I get.

The final conclusion is the Dish Network Company won and did the right thing, by not paying ridiculous rate increases. Now by standing up to a huge corporation like News Corporation, it gives this satellite company something the other satellite company doesn’t have. A backbone!