Ive got two of these and Peyton's got only one!!! Nyah-Nyah!!!

Greetings from the Hoodwood, the locals are already suffering from football withdrawal.

Its an anniversary…Musings from  the Hoodwood, celebrates a year at Yougabsports.com!!!

Well last night was the capstone of another great season for the NFL. A thrilling Super Bowl and the New York Football Giants are kings for the pro football world for the 2^nd time in four years. Clown on Eli Manning all you want, but the youngest of the Manning boys is fast cementing his place as one of the better quarterbacks of our generation. My boy Jonesie dogs him relentlessly and I still say he looks like he couldn’t get past the doorman at most nightclubs. You have to give him dap, twice now outdueling the redoubtable Tom Brady for a Super title. Now the wonks are starting to rail on Brady and Belichick having not won a Super Bowl since the spygate incident and many like my homie Jinx are getting louder with the phrase If you cant beat ‘em cheat ‘em. I think its an unfair tag, and unlike the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings the Pats have Super Bowl rings to show to counter the four losses that they have.

To be sure the Pats had their chances and you know that tough drop by Wes Welker in the 4th will haunt Pats fans for awhile, but real talk here. The Giants played the same formula that they have in winning 4 Super Bowl, a grind it out offense that limits the opposing offense and a punch you in the mouth defense. The G-Men didnt pound Brady like they did four years ago but they hit him enough to make him uncomfortable. Give credit where its due the G-Men are the Champs

First Spec of the Season

Yeah, yeah I know it’s a little late getting started but here we are a little over a month out from selection Sunday, the day where the 68 NCAA dance tickets are officially issued. So the time has come for the now legendary Tournament Speculation Update. Or Spec Sheets, I break down by conference who I think will qualify for the NCAA tournament. Of the 50 schools Power, Major, & Mid-Major conferences that qualified last year I correctly picked 50 of them. Since its still early I break the teams into two categories. Teams listed as solid are on a good course to make the tournament those with Work to Do are teams that need to get some resume building wins or simply bust out an extended win streak. Keep in mind that this list is speculation for now, the predictions on who gets in won’t be till March. Lets get started

Atlantic Coast 
(Conference Class-Power) 
Solid: Duke, North Carolina, Florida State 
Work to do: North Carolina State, Miami, Virginia 
Skinny on the ACC: Duke got caught looking ahead to their showdown with UNC and their vaunted home winning streak went by the boards with a stunning loss to Miami. The Canes will need a few more wins like that to solidify their status. The Noles and Heels are cruising along. The Wolfpack and Cavs aren’t doing anything to hurt themselves but hitting 20 wins before Valentines Day would look real good on the resume 
Key Game: Duke at North Carolina Wendesday 9p (ESPN) If I have to explain why, move on from reading this blog now.

Projected Bids: 5 

Atlantic Ten 
Conference Class-Mid Major 
Solid: Temple, Saint Louis
Work to do: Xavier UMass, Lasalle 
The A-10 Spec is: Temple is the only team on this list with any real street cred, a win agains Duke as their shiny bauble on their resume. The Billikens are a tough squad to figure but have some credible wins over ACC and Big 12 teams to boast on. Xavier is in all kinds of trouble 7-8 since their brawl with crosstown rival Cincy the Muskies are in real bubble danger and a loss to Memphis did them no favors. UMass and LaSalle lack marquee wins since beating X carries less weight than in years past

Key Games: Saint Bonaventure at UMass Wednesday 7:30 The Bonnies want to get into tourney talk a road win at a tough venue is a good way to get noticed

Projected Bids: 2 

Big East 
Conference Class-Power 
Solid: Syracuse, Georgetown, Marquette, Louisville, Notre Dame, Cincinnati

Work to do: South Florida, UConn, West Virginia 
Big East Skinny: It’s the same ole same old here. Dominant team at the top in the ‘Cuse and then a morass of good but not great teams beating each others brains out like crabs in a barrel. Lunardi of ESPN has 9 teams coming out of here, but truth be told after Cincy Im not sold past six and my beloved Bearcats are tottering. The Blazers, Huskies and Mountaineers all have some shaky patches  

Key Game: Georgetown at Syracuse Wendesday 7p The Cuse is on top and will stay there win or lose, but the Hoyas could really make a big splash with a win in the Carrier Dome

Projected bids: 7 

Big Ten 
Conference Class-Power 
Solid: Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Indiana 
Work to do: Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue
The word on the Big Ten is: Ohio State leads the pack after a tense win at Madison and Michigan State hot on their heels after beating Michigan. Weep not for the Badgers and Wolverines as they are very much in the picture. Indiana has looked shaky at times but that win over #1 Kentucky will get them massive mileage. Is it me or does Illinois have permanent residence on the bubble, whining about respect but playing down to their competition will get them no love here. Losing four of five aside from an brutal to win watch slugfest over Michigan State doesn’t help. The Boilers and Gophers lack a signature win and

Key Game: Wisconsin at Minnesota Thursday 7p (BTN) The Gophers as mentioned before lack a signature win, beating their despised eastern neighbor would do very well to that end

Projected Bids: 6 

Big 12 
Conference Class-Power 
Solid: Kansas, Baylor, Missouri 
Work to do: Iowa State, Kansas State 
Skinny from the heartland: The Tigers, Jayhawks, and Bears are pretty much safe as long as they don’t drop too many. Iowa State is the one to watch, they have big wins over Kansas and have a leg up on the Wildcats whom they’ve already beaten.  
Key Game: Kansas at Baylor Wednesday 7p (ESPN2) The Bears got housed in Allen Fieldhouse last month and are itching for payback but the Jayhawks, stung by a shootout loss at Mizzou needs a bounceback. 
Projected Bids: 5 

Conference USA 
Conference Class-Major 
Solid: None 
Work to do: Tulsa, Southern Miss, Memphis 
Oh Say Can You C-USA Spec: Southern Miss is the leader here and with 20 wins are the team to beat, Memphis, as is their wont, hangs around the top though they lack a real resume booster, especially with the win over Xavier not carrying as much weight and losing at the aforementioned Golden Eagles last Wednesday. 
Key Game: Southern Miss at UAB Wednesday 8p The Eagles had better take care going into Bartow is never a fun assignment, the Blazers are always tough at their quirky loud venue.

Projected Bids: 1 


Horizon 
Conference Class-Mid Major 
Solid: Cleveland State 
Work to do: Valpo, Wright State,
Spec on The Horizon: Always a favorite of mine, the Horizon is a fun league to watch. Unfortunelately Butler is a long shot at best to be around much longer than a token win or two in the Horizon tourney this year. Cleveland State is the bully on the block this year and though Valpo is contending it’s the Vikings title to lose. 
Key Game: Valpo at Cleveland State Thursday 7p Valpo knocked off the Vikings earlier last month and stands a half game out of first in the Horizon a win in Cleveland gives them a crucial tiebreaker

Projected Bids: 1 

IVY 
Conference Class-Small 
Solid: Harvard 
Work To Do: Princeton 
Spec on the Ivy Vine: Harvard is ranked getting close to bulletproof. If the Yalies or Quakers cant slow them down soon the auto bid might be locked up without much more of a fight 
Key Game: Harvard at Penn Friday 7p Expect the historic Palestra to be at its rockin’ rowdy best with the ranked Crimson in town.

Projected Bids: 1 


Missouri Valley 
Conference Class-Mid Major 
Solid: Creighton 
Work to do: Wichita State,
Missouri Valley Skinny: Another of my favorite conferences has a ranked team at the head of its class though the BlueJays took a stunning pratfall at UNI and though they are still ranked have a hard charging Shocker team even with them in the standings now. I still think both teams are tourney worthy.

Key Game: Northern Iowa at Wichita State Wednesday 8p The Panthers fresh off their upset of Creighton are the Shockers problem now.

Projected Bids: 2 


Mountain West 
Conference Class-Major 
Solid: San Diego State, UNLV 
Work to do: None 
Spec from the Mountains: Without a certain Mormon squad casting a shadow the MWC is a two team struggle.  
Key Game: San Diego State at UNLV Saturday 4p A super huge matchup, winner gets inside track on MWC top seed 
Projected Bids: 2 


Pacific 12 
Conference Class-Power 
Solid: Washington, Cal, Colorado, Oregon, Arizona
Work to do: Stanford, UCLA, Oregon State 
Spec from the left coast: This is a messy situation as usual. Though unlike years past there are at least a a couple teams that are good enough to make the tourney without a host of snickers from the peanut gallery…maybe.The Huskies are grinding out ugly but effective wins. As soon as you get sold on the Bears they take a stupid loss, witness losing 2 of three winnable home games. Colorado is new to the Pac12 mess but they fit right in with puzzling play and a tendency to play bad on the road. Arizona? Well…they are in the mix for now…but stay tuned. The working teams in the Cardinal, Bruins and Beavers need to string some wins together to stay on this list

 Key Games: Washington at Oregon  11p (FOX Sports) Thursday The Huskies head into the woods to take on a Ducks squad needing a signature win. 
Projected Bids: 5



Southeastern 
Conference Class-Power 
Solid: Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Florida, Mississippi State 
Work to do: Arkansas, Alabama Ole Miss, 
Spec is Down South: The Wildcats looked almost bored in thumping South Carolina and are pretty safe right now. Beyond Florida, the SEC looks pretty humdrum though the Commodores and Bulldogs haven’t done anything to not be included on the Solid list but Vandy had better right itself fast.

Key Game: Florida at Kentucky Tuesday 7p (ESPN) The Gators are maybe one of the few SEC teams that could stop the rampaging Wildcats…maybe. 
Projected Bids: 4


Western Athletic 
Conference Class- Major 
Solid: Nevada
Work to do:  New Mexico State,
Spec on the WAC: Nevada took its first loss since since Thanksgiving but is still in pretty good shape, though the Aggies are still very much in the hunt 
Key Game: Nevada at Hawai’i Friday 1a (ESPNU) The Wolfpack head to the Big Island with a big target on their backs.

Projected Bids: 2 

West Coast 
Conference Class- Mid Major 
Solid: St. Marys 
Work to do: Gonzaga, BYU 
West Coast Spec: The Gaels are the bully this year and have been playing like it. The Bulldogs and Cougars are jostling for a 2^nd spot here. 
Key Game: St. Mary’s at Gonzaga Thursday 11p (ESPN2) The Gaels are heading into an extremely hostile venue in the Kennel

Projected Bids: 2 

There are others in the mix to be sure. Teams from the always dangerous Colonial and Big South always are in the mix and can send multiple teams. Of course the champions from the following conferences get an automatic bid: Amer. East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big West, MAC, MAAC, MEAC, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Sun Belt, Summit, and SWAC 

Since this is still early spec, nothing here is solid and we haven't even brought up the possibility of upsets. But those never happen, right? 

Next Spec on Friday!

Phat Dap Head Slap

Phat Dap

To Knicks Guard Jeremy Lin, who had enough to overcome being Asian-American playing basketball but also coming out of Harvard (Harvard???) he scored a career high 28 points to lead the Knicks to a win Monday night as he filled in for Amare Stoudamire who had to leave the team due to the death of his older brother (condolences to the Stoudamire family) Dap to Lin for perserving and becoming a possible new option for the Knicks offense off the bench.

Head Slap

Never a favorite of mine, Steelers LB James Harrison leading those that were chortling about the Pats loss in the Super Bowl. Saying "I told you, Cheaters never win."  Ummm im sorry, Mr. Harrison were you there...oh thats right your team got Tebowed and were out the first round. Do the sporting world a favor and keep your yap shut unless you are winning Super Bowls you have no place to shot call

Until Next Post Fellow Sports Fans!