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Now that the ACC and SEC have been predicted, we move on to an overview of the rest of the NCAA Division I-A (FBS). Big East It will again be an interesting year in the Big East (and could be one of the last years for the Big East barring expansion). Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida are bringing in new coaches while West Virginia and Pittsburgh will be lead by stellar runningbacks. Really, the only team that doesn't look as if it will be the least bit competitive is Syracuse (wait for basketball season Orangemen). I still have a lot of questions for Louisville, UConn, Cincy, South Florida and West Virginia. Rutgers will be an interesting team to watch with QB Tom Savage and WR Mohammed Sanu. They will be a tough D, but I'm not sure if they have the best D in the Big East. The top team in my opinion, is Pittsburgh. They have an All-American caliber RB in Dion Lewis, a decent passing game, and a hard-nosed defense. Questions are at QB, but Lewis can compensate for that. P...

Last time we focused on the ACC, picking how the season might play out, as well as All Conference first and second team. Today, we shift our focus to the SEC. West Will start off with the easy division to pick. No surprise, I'm going with Alabama. The Crimson Tide look to have a dominant offense headed by a huge, athletic offensive line and a 1-2 punch at runningback with Heisman winner Mark Ingram and sophomore Trent Richardson. They also have Julio Jones at receiver, just in case you were wondering if they had any other weapons, along with consistent play from their tightends. The only question for Alabama is defense, were they lost a few key guys, such as Terrance Cody, Javier Arenas, and Rolando McClain, but they do get LB Dont'a Hightower back. Everyone else will be playing for second, and I think that honor goes to either Auburn or Arkansas. I would throw LSU in the mix, but their QB situation and questions on defense are too big for me to overlook. Ole Miss lost almost e...

With Phil Steele's pre-season All Conference selections coming out, we here at the Report believe it is time we unveiled our pre-season teams, as well as how we think the league will pan out. Today, the ACC is on display. First, look at the divisional races. Atlantic Looking at the Atlantic division that saw Clemson win its first divisional title, and make its first appearance in the title game, the Tigers are hoping for a repeat. Much of that hinges on the return of QB Kyle Parker, who will have to decide between the baseball or football depending on where he is selected in the MLB draft. If Parker comes back, Clemson will have a good shot, if he doesn't, it could be a rougher year. Personally, I think Parker is like a baseball after being struck by an aluminum bat...gone. QB Tajh Boyd is more talented, but Clemson will be a year away from returning to the ACC title game, but they will finish no lower than third this year. Personally, I think Florida State will win the divisio...

A college football shakeup has been a hot button issue recently, and a column by The State's (SC) Ron Morris has brought the firestorm to South Carolina. In his piece, Morris makes note of a giant college football conference realignment that, among other things, would put South Carolina back in the ACC, a conference it left in the late 1960s. Though I don't agree with Mr. Morris' (no relation to me) idea that USC would go back to the ACC, I do agree there is a big conference shift that will, eventually, give us a college football playoff. After a long, and scientifically inexact process, I was able to come up with seven "Superconferences," based loosely on region . One important thing to note: These changes only effect football , while leaving all these conferences I did away with, intact for basketball, baseball and other sports. Conferences such as the SEC, ACC, MAC, and Mountain West would remain, while the Big 12 has a schism and splits, remaking the Sout...

I've gotten to watch a week of games and highlights, and now I'm ready to make predictions on who will win divisions, the wildcard, and who will be playing in the World Series. National League East 1-Phillies 2-Braves 3-Marlins 4-Mets 5-Nationals *The Phillies are still the team to beat. The additions of P Roy Halladay and C Placido Palanco make their rotation the best in the National League, and give them another strong bat in the lineup. And you can't forget about the trifecta of SS Jimmy Rollins, 2B Chase Utley and 1B Ryan Howard (who will hit close to 50 HRs this year). Braves will win the wildcard. Central 1-Cardinals 2-Brewers 3-Reds 4-Cubs 5-Astros 6-Pirates *The Cardinals have the best pitching rotation in the division with Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter and Brad Penny . Don't forget the two dangerous bats of OF Matt Holliday and 1B Albert Pujols. West 1-Giants 2-Rockies 3-Dodgers 4-Diamondbacks 5-Padres *The Rockies are the favorite, but I think the Giants...

It was announced by the NCAA that the men's basketball tournament will expand to 96 teams . Here is a link to the Indianapolis Business Journal for more details. The actual vote for this is still three weeks away , but all signs point that this will go through. Though I am not a fan of this, it does have merit. More teams equals more games The overall product won't be watered down , just the first round. Missed class time won't be a problem. They will miss a maximum of one extra day. The extra revenue will help fund non-revenue sports , such as track and field, tennis, etc. As I have stated in an earlier post, I was not a fan of expansion, for the simple reason I think the tournament lasts long enough, and by April, I'm ready for baseball and Opening Day (which should be a National holiday). This has a good chance of taking effect in the 2011 tournament. This won't diminish the importance of the regular season, it will enhance it. Now, the regular season conferenc...

How many of you picked Kansas to win it all? I did, and now my bracket is busted...thanks a lot Northern Iowa. Also, I made the foolish choice of picking Texas to beat Wake Forest, and then top Kentucky on their way to the Final Four...thanks to the Deacs, that won't happen either. And I couldn't be happier. These upsets prove that the tournament doesn't need an expansion with would give the top seeds a bye week, and let the lower ranked teams play the UNI's and St. Mary's and Temple's and Cornell's of the world. What makes the tournament exciting are those first round, seemingly insurmountable games that feature an all-world one or two seed, against some mid-major school that no one has heard of (I didn't even know there was a school in northern Iowa, much less that they played basketball out there). There is the argument that more teams means more upsets, but that isn't true. As stated, the top teams would get a bye, and the lower seeds would just...