Odds & Ends - Two Months Till Football

cleveland.com

It is once again that enviable time of waiting and contemplating the upcoming college and pro football seasons now only two months away.  With that in mind, time to weigh-in on what looks promising, what is sure to disappoint and what never changes.  The big news this week is the agreement on a college football playoff.  Long overdue and without a doubt disappointing in that it does not go far enough or start soon enough.  However, it is coming and college football fans for the most part have to be salivating at the prospect of a playoff to determine our national champion.

washingtonpost.com

Thankfully, the NFL has a labor deal and we need not worry about all that nonsense for a number of years.  One does have to wonder what the New Orleans Saints are thinking about taking so long to sign Drew Brees.  If you are like me, you must be hoping that a deal will soon be struck with the officials.  Replacement officials just don't work and open the league to all types of problems. 

Wimbledon is now in full progress but I'm not sure anyone really cares.  I did catch a women's match over lunch today and it was enjoyable but not so much that I will carve time out of my day to watch more.  The British Open starts soon and should be a good event this year with Tiger looming.  Of course, we are now only weeks away from the beginning of the London Olympics. 

nj.com

This year's Olympics will give us some great competition and will be a nice lead-in to the college and NFL seasons.  I will be looking at purchasing my Olympic viewing ticket to watch everything and anything online.  I loved that about March Madness and the Olympics has a similar appeal to me.  The competition in swimming among the Americans will be something special.  I am also looking forward to the Track and Field events and Basketball.  Look for LeBron to bring home a gold. 

Although I will write more on this as the season approaches, my pre-season pick is Denver to win the AFC Championship.  I believe Peyton Manning and his teammates will hang on in a tightly fought AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals.  The Bengals draft coupled with Andy Dalton and A.J. Green make the Bengals a definite favorite. 

cincinnati.com

I received great news from my friends Dan and Pam in Ohio who finally have the opportunity to buy season tickets for the Buckeyes.  What a great year to start seeing the Buckeyes every Saturday at home with our new coach, Urban Meyer.  The Buckeyes will be incredibly competitive this year and certainly fun to watch.  I keep reviewing their schedule trying to find a game they could lose.  There are several of course but I maintain that the Buckeyes with their new high-powered offense could very easily run the table. 

The Game is in the Horseshoe in 2012 and Meyer's first go-round with the team up north.  No Big Ten Championship, no BCS game or bowl game in mind, look for the Buckeyes to make the Michigan game a season-maker or breaker in 2012.  Meyer will want to get this series off on the right foot with a big win. 

dailymail.co.uk

The NCAA did come down as expected on UConn's basketball team with a post-season ban for their poor performance in the classroom.  No surprise there.  What did surprise me was to learn the Ohio State Football team ranked in the top five of all universities scoring a 998 out of 1 1000 in the Academic Performance Report.  Urban will have to go some to top that figure. 

Even though I have long boycotted Major League Baseball, I must say that I am delighted to learn that my Reds are clinging to their first-place lead.  It seems difficult to imagine their lead will hold up all season but more power to them.  Finally, the NBA draft comes our way with a very strong underclassmen group.  Those first choices will spell the difference for some very good teams making next year's season much  more interesting. 

Most see this period of time as a hiatus for sports.  I don't think so.  Just a good time to reflect, prepare and dream of the football season to come.