"We are with you all the way"

Super Bowl 46 does not have my favorite teams in the big game, or favorite player, but there is no question who I will be pulling for. I'll be rooting on the New York Giants thanks to three players: Lawrence Tynes, Osi Umenyiora, and Jerrel Jernigan. All three played at Troy, and are therefore Trojans for life.

As the Troy fight song says, "We are with you all the way...," so I will be pulling for these guys throughout their careers.

And not just these three.

I keep up with every former Trojan who plays in the NFL. I make it a weekly routine to bring up the box scores from the weekend's games to see how the Troy guys did. Not every former player has had the instant impact of guys like Umenyiora or Demarcus Ware, but you will find Troy players scattered throughout the league making a play on Sundays. Elbert Mack of Tampa Bay is a top backup for the Bucs secondary, Leodis McKelvin had some big returns late in the season for Buffalo, DuJuan Harris became the backup to the league's top rusher in Maurice Jones-Drew (Jags OC Dirk Koetter said late in the season that Harris "might be the most improved player we have on offense"), Mario Addison went from undrafted to the Bears squad to making an impact on the Colts defense late in the year. Sherrod Martin, Steve McLendon, Cameron Sheffield are just some of the others who I will continue to watch over the next several years.

So come Super Bowl Sunday, I won't be pulling for just the Giants, but for the Trojans as well.

So I was wrong.

Looks like I was wrong about the National Championship game. But I could also never pick Alabama, it's just the way I was raised. I know they are from my state and all this and that, but I just can't do it.

But what's next? Well in the college football world we have National Signing Day which will be February 1 this year. It's a day where college football fans turn their attention to fax machines around the country to make sure teenagers stick by their "commitments". There always surprises and these high school athletes have been trying to top each other in the way they make there selection. We'll have to wait and see what the players have in store this year.

But after that, it's the college baseball season I'm looking forward to most. It is probably my favorite. Baseball in general has always been my favorite, but the college game, especially with last year's rule changes has risen to the top. The season starts on February 17 this year, which is also my birthday. I will be ready for the National Anthem and then for the first time bat hits ball.

Rematch Time

Well, the BCS National Championship game is finally here. Tonight, Alabama and LSU will match up for the second time this season. LSU got the better of the first game, winning 9-6 in overtime. What will the second game be like? Who knows. Many think we will see more offense and these teams open things up. I'm thinking these teams are still playing to win and may be conservative to a certain point.

Who I am picking? Well, for anyone who knows me knows it's not Alabama. I was raised with a certain passion to strongly dislike Alabama (Thanks Dad). I still think it will be a close defensive battle, but I have to take the Bayou Bengals winning 20-17.