The Links

Rachel Bilson to start the mourning..... What went wrong for Charlie Weis at Notre Dame..... Bobby Bowden expected to retire today..... How Kobe Bryant helped Vince Young..... New Orleans Saints look unbeatable..... It's not 1988 anymore Notre Dame games..... Chris Johnson is a running back for the ages..... Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown mishandles the Big Z situation badly...... Signing Iverson wouldn't be the Sixers answer to their questions

Les Miles thought the Ole Miss debacle was painful. Now his school is being investigated for possible "violations" (The Advocate)

ESPN magazine's body issue was a success (CNBC)

Are the Saints destined for 16-0? (The Scores Report)

Shaq and Gilbert Arenas ordered to stay away from each other? (No Guts, No Glory)

Rachel Uchitel denies every having an affair with Tiger (The Big Lead)

Think Urban Meyer will suspend him for the SEC Championship Game? (Gator Bytes)

Bobby Bowden saved Florida State when he arrived, is he saving it again by leaving? (Orlando Sentinel)

Remembering Bobby Bowden (Tallahassee Democrat)

Remember the real victim in Tiger Woods' crash, the fire hydrant (Devils Ball Golf)

Wesley Snipes is playing for the Chicago Bulls? (Pacman Jonesin')

Watch this idiot hit his own goaltender with a hockey stick (Tirico Suave)

Afternoon Games: Spark Notes

The SEC Championship game will be the focal point, but there will be other games to keep an eye on.

> Tyrone Willingham's last game is today as Washington takes on Cal. And they suck. Cal's first possession and Jahvid Best ran for a 60 yard touchdown.
> Update: Tulsa made it interesting by tying the game with 4:00 left to play. But East Carolina drove down the field and kicked a game winning field goal.
> The Wiz of Odds, has a great read about Texas Tech coach Mike Leach and his contract situation.
> Well with Florida-Alabama about ready to kick off, it is being reported that Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin is "very doubtful" for today's game. He has a right ankle sprain.

This will definitely hurt Florida's chances today.

Update: Well that was easy, Florida drove right down the field on Alabama and scored. 7-0 with 8:17 left in the 1ST quarter. I am already second guessing my prediction.
Wow, Alabama struck back. JPW hit Julio Jones for a 60 yard pass completion. Then Glen Coffee ran it in for a touchdown. 7-7 with 7:23 left in the second quarter.

> This game can't be a offensive showcase can it? We will see if the defenses can stop each other.

> Well I jinxed the game. Alabama forced Florida into a 3 and out.

Update: 31-0 Cal over Washington and Virginia Tech is heading to the Orange Bowl.

10-7 Alabama, the special teams for Alabama made this score happen. Let's see if Tebow and Florida can respond.

> The Alabama defense has showed up. They might have let Florida drive on them and score on the first possession but since then Florida has had to punt the ball twice.

End of 1St quarter, Alabama 10 Florida 7, with the Crimson Tide driving on Florida again.

> Cal running back Jahvid Best is putting on a show. He has rushed for 269 yards and 4 touchdowns against Washington. And yes, Washington is that bad, I can see why Tyrone Willingham will no longer be the coach there.

We are tied at 10 in the SEC championship game. Tebow finally looked like himself on that drive, but they couldn't get 6.

> Tyrone Willingham will go out in style, Cal 45 Washington 0, the Huskies look like they are ready for a new coach.

> 17-10 Florida, Tebow hit David Nelson for the TD. The Alabama defense looks like it is starting to break down. And I don't know if JPW can keep the Crimson Tide in the game.

Upset Alert: Michigan just upset Duke 81-73 in college basketball. Michigan in basketball has now beat UCLA and Duke in about a 3 week span.

Halftime: 17 Florida 10 Alabama, the Crimson Tide need to get the offense going again or they will get boat raced in the 2ND half.

>Cal is thumping Washington, and USC is not helping their cause by beating UCLA 14-7 so far. It's a shame that USC won't get a chance to play for the title this year, because their defense is outstanding.

The second half of the SEC championship game, has begun with an interesting interview with Nick Saban. It seemed like the Nicktator drank too much coffee in the locker room.

> Alabama finally stopped the Florida offense, but has the ball deep in their own zone.

17-17, Alabama went on a 15 play 91 yard touchdown drive. Just what the doctor ordered.

Well, Tyrone Willingham went out in style, with a 48-7 loss. Cal running back Jahvid Best finished the day with 311 yards and 4 touchdowns. At least we got a winless team in college football.

Still 17-17 after a miss field goal by Florida. Tebow had a guy open for a touchdown but threw the ball incomplete. Now Alabama gets their chance to put up some points.

20-17 Alabama, they completely dominated Florida in this quarter. The gators will need a big 4TH quarter from Tebow and some long drives, because right now Alabama is winning the ball control battle right now.

Florida strikes back, 24-20 with 9:21 left in the game. Florida did what they needed to do and went on a long drive. My guess, whoever has the ball last will win the game.

> The Florida defense got to Alabama and now they are forced to punt. Their defense will need a quick stop to stay in the game.

> Florida is driving for a score. They can pretty much end the game here.

Florida 31-20 and the game is pretty much over. They can start packing their bags for Miami.

Interception!, Alabama just gave it back to Florida.

See you for the night games.

College Football Links

- Army-Navy is more than the BCS (KC Star)

- Florida Vs. Alabama the DE facto semifinal (The Birmingham News)

- It's going to be cold for the Big 12 Championship (The Oklahoman)

- Will a lot of people show up for the Conference USA championship (Tulsa World)

- Today's games broken down for you (CBSsports.com)

College Football Must List

Well it is always a sprint to the end of a season in college football. And we are headed to the finish line. There will be championship games played and some hold over regular season games. But the SEC championship game and Big 12 Championship game will be the focal points of this weekend.

Who's wills will overcome the challenge: Florida's offense or the Alabama Defense: I said yesterday that I liked Alabama because of their defense. The Alabama is lead by their 3RD ranked defense that is averaging 11.5 points per game. The Florida offense is also 3RD ranked that is averaging 46.3 points per game. This will be a battle of wills and I think Nick Saban's will is stronger. His defense will pressure Tim Tebow and force him to make mistakes. When Tebow is pressured he does not make the best throws and the entire Florida offense literally runs through him. Alabama will win this game.

Will the Big 12 Championship pull another surprise: Just ask the 2003 undefeated Oklahoma team that was hammered by Kansas St. in the Big 12 Championship game. The 1996 Nebraska team also felt the wrath of the Big 12 Championship game. While Missouri has been disappointing and did loose to Kansas last week at Arrowhead Stadium, where the championship game will be played this year, they will have a home field advantage. The weather will be miserable and could slow down the up-tempo Oklahoma offense. This game will be the most interesting game of the weekend.

After the end of the weekend most of the questions will be answered. We will know who will be playing in the BCS games. So have a fun time watching the last weekend of college football.

Remember When

At this point Florida is favored to beat Alabama in the SEC championship game by 10 points on Saturday.

I just want to know why everyone is favoring Florida over Alabama at this point. I know Tim Tebow and the Gator offense looks unstoppable at this point. But has everyone forgot that Alabama has one of the best defenses in the country.

This reminds when Alabama played Miami for the national championship game at the Sugar bowl in 1993.

Miami was a huge favored over Alabama and the players reminded everyone that they were favored. Lamar Thomas, who became famous for other reasons, talk the most amount of trash. One thing though, that Alabama team had one of the best defenses in the country.

During the game Thomas caught a long ball from Gino Torretta, who famously told his teammates to carry him to Marshall Faulk to tell him the Heisman was coming with him, then was stripped of the ball from George Teague.

The Alabama defense dominated a great offensive Miami team and end up winning the game 34-13. The Crimson Tide made Miami eat their words.

While Florida hasn't been talking the smack like Miami, the media sure has. Everyone in the media has been talking about Tim Tebow and the Florida offense. They are forgetting that Alabama is ranked number one, and has Nick Saban as their coach. Alabama's defense will win this game for the Crimson Tide.

So we need to think back and remember to never turn your backs to Alabama.