Jonathan Says

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

What a crazy season this has been. A
No. 1 one has been crowned – again – after
another upset. Arkansas’ 52-50 victory in
triple overtime over LSU was a classic,
but it makes me wonder if anyone really
wants to win the national championship
this year. Missouri is the new No. 1 after
holding off a fourth quarter rally by then
No. 2 Kansas in a 36-28 win. Speaking of
which, with basketball season warming up,
doesn’t it sound weird that we’re talking
about the gridiron Jayhawks? Getting back
on point, Missouri has its chance to blow
a chance at the national title on Saturday
when it faces Oklahoma in Saturday’s Big
12 championship. Oklahoma is in a perfect
situation for this one. Sooners’ coach Bob
Stoops is a Big 12 title game veteran, and
his team is far enough back in the BCS
standings that the pressure will lie mostly
on Missouri.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Dick Vitale and the ESPN crew did
a good job of making it sound like the
ankle injury sustained by North Carolina
point guard Tywon Lawson during the
Tar Heels’ victory over BYU on Saturday
would cause problems for the top-ranked
team in America; not just during the game,
but during the season if it was serious. To
this I say – prove it. Backup point guard
Bobby Frasor didn’t play much last season
because of a stress fracture in his foot,
but the junior was also the starting point
guard on the surprising 2006 team that
finished with 23 wins despite losing Rashad
McCants, Raymond Felton, Sean May and
Marvin Williams to the NBA, and Jawad
Williams, Jackie Manuel and Melvin Scott
to graduation. Frasor averaged 4.38 assists
that season. In short – Frasor is qualified
and more than ready to lead the Tar Heels
if Lawson’s injury becomes a problem.

Elsewhere . looking for a team that is
overhyped? Try Clemson. The Tigers are
3-0 and ranked No. 24 in the AP Top 25.
However, with the exception of an early
match-up with Mississippi State (an 84-82
victory), Clemson doesn’t have a true
test on the schedule until Jan. 1, when
the Tigers travel to Alabama to face the
Crimson Tide.

Looking for a team that needs more
hype? Try Duke. The one thing the Blue
Devils truly missed last season was a reliable
shooter to take the pressure off of Josh
McRoberts in the paint. This year, freshman
Kyle Singler (15.8 ppg) has stepped up to
be the presence that Duke needed. Duke
teams that have reliable shooters (see
Trajan Langdon, Shane Battier, J.J. Redick)
tend to be very dangerous.

NFL

Anyone who thinks Brett Favre no
longer “has it” can stop doubting after
his performance on Thanksgiving. Twenty
straight completions is not an easy task and
takes a little more than luck to accomplish.
The veteran is still crafty and still plays
with the same reckless abandon that made
him great. Maybe he’s got another year left
since the Packers are playing so well?

It was good to see Cincinnati put together
a complete game in a 35-6 stomping
of the Tennessee Titans. After picking the
Bengals to win the AFC North, I’ve felt
like an idiot watching them stumble to a
4-7 record. It will be interesting to see if
Marvin Lewis can rally his team to come
up with four or five wins to close out the
season and perhaps make the playoffs.