On Tap

A lot late but better than never.

Assisting in the grant writing process takes up a shit load of time apparently.

And there was no beer of the week. If I don't get to drink beer, you don't get to drink beer.



Last Week 6-1 (13-6 overall)

Saturday

12:00 (ESPN) Michigan @ Minnesota. Minnesota

12:00 (ESPN2) Ohio State @ Northwestern. Ohio State

3:30 (ABC) Penn State @ Iowa. Penn State

3:30 (CBS) Alabama vs. LSU. LSU

8:00 (ESPN) Notre Dame @ Boston College. Boston College

8:00 (ESPN2) Florida @ Vanderbilt. Florida

8:00 (ABC) Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech. Texas Tech

On Tap

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007

I am too lazy to write anything up, so here are the games and inevitably bad picks.


Last week 7-5 (I suck)


Saturday

12:00 (ESPN) Wisconsin @ Michigan State. MSU

12:00 (ESPN2) Northwestern @ Minnesota. Minnesota

2:30 (NBC) Pittsburgh @ Notre Dame. Pitt

3:30 (ABC) Florida State @ Georgia Tech. GT

3:30 (CBS) Georgia vs. Florida (Jacksonville). Florida

7:45 (ESPN) Nebraska @ Oklahoma. Oklahoma

8:00 (ABC) Texas @ Texas Tech. Texas Tech




all times eastern

On Tap

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007


Some solid football games this weekend, I have no time to write any thing about them though. You will just have to deal with knowing what games are on and no useless info about them.


Thursday

7:30 (ESPN) Clemson @ Wake Forest


Friday

8:00 (ESPN2) Louisville @ Memphis


Saturday

12:00 (ABC) Texas vs. Oklahoma

12:30 (ESPN2) Colorado @ Kansas

3:30 (ABC) Purdue @ Ohio State

3:30 (CBS) Tennessee @ Georgia

3:30 (ESPN2) Michigan State @ Northwestern

8:00 (ESPN) Penn State @ Wisconsin

8:00 (ESPN2) Oklahoma State @ Missouri

8:00 (CBS) LSU @ Florida

all times eastern

On Tap

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007


Thursday

7:30 (ESPN) Pittsburgh @ South Florida. Some fool picked Pitt to win the Big East, they sure are making him look like a jackass. South Florida should have a cake walk to the Big East title, but then again some pretty strange things have been happening in college football this year. The lesson here: never pick the Wandstache to win anything.


Friday

8:00 (ESPN2) Cincinnati @ Marshall. We are Marshall, and Cincinnati is starting their 7th string quarterback. Does anyone watch these Friday night games?


Saturday

12:00 (ESPN) Penn State @ Purdon’t. Purdue is sure in the midst of a tough little stretch of football (Oregon, CMU, ND, PSU, OSU). Penn State is hoping not to end up like Wake Forest, Florida, USC and actually beat a team they are supposed to.

2:30 (NBC) Stanford @ Notre Dame. I think this should be another win for Notre Dame, but you just never know what you are going to get from a Pac Ten team. Also apparently everyone and their brother got arrested last week at Notre Dame. I was there and I saw and was involved in none of this, thankfully.

3:30 (ABC) Illinois @ Michigan. Illinois has only lost twice, with both losses coming against teams currently ranked in the top six. Michigan has lost twice as well, but to Utah and Notre Dame, although those losses are becoming better and better by the week.

3:30 (CBS) Kentucky @ Alabama. Last week Alabama went into Athens and played the role of executioner at the black out. That means this week they should forget how to play football and lose by 10 to Kentucky.

4:00 (Versus) Navy @ Air Force. First game for the commander-in-chiefs trophy. Navy has won like 5 in a row (some kind of record). If you like teams that run the ball this game is for you. The Midshipmen and Falcons combine for almost 600 rushing yards per game.

6:00 (ESPN) Auburn @ Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is undefeated (and it is not the academic bowl) seriously. Auburn can’t score. I am feeling a 7-6 Vandy win.

8:00 (ABC) Ohio State @ Wisconsin. Can you say Ohio State out of the national title picture? With a loss here that would be all but certain, but with a win they will still be on the hairy edge of the conversation annoying approximately 93.7% of the country. Badger Badger Badger.

9:00 (ESPN) Missouri @ Nebraska. Late game on ESPN, look for Cornhusker coach Bo Pelini to rupture a blood vessel after Mizzou scores their 5th touchdown of the first half.


all times eastern

On Tap (Little to no effort edition)

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007

I even had time to work on this and just chose not to, your loss (or gain).

Thursday

9:00 (ESPN) USC @ Oregon State. USC gets their first chance to get back on the field after throttling Ohio State. Every year it seems like USC finds one game to forget to show up to, unfortunately for the Beavers that is not this game. Key Fact: It is nearly impossible to ignore the obvious “the Trojans will pound the Beavers” joke, see I even tried.


Friday

8:00 (ESPN2) Connecticut @ Louisville. Another Friday night game for Connecticut. Also known as another Friday night game for you to ignore.


Saturday

12:00 (BTN) Minnesota @ Ohio State. I don’t even know what to think of OSU anymore, some day some game the Buckeyes are going to let a team hang around just a little too long.

12:00 (ESPN) Random early afternoon game on ESPN. One team will probably be ranked in the 20’s the other will be looking for a marquee upset but will totally settle for knocking off anything that resembles a top 25 team.

3:30 (ABC) Wisconsin @ Michigan. Wisconsin opens up there Big Ten campaign against the hurting Wolverines. Both teams are coming off a bye week. The Badgers have been celebrating their victory over Fresno and Michigan has been thinking about getting greased by the pillow Fighting Irish.

3:30 (ABC) Arkansas @ Texas. If you don’t live in the Midwest you will have the opportunity of watching Texas dismantle the fighting Bobby Petrinos.

3:30 (NBC) Purdue @ Notre Dame. First and foremost I will be at the game, if that is not reason enough to watch there is not much else that will get you to tune into a Notre Dame game.

3:30 (CBS) Tennessee @ Auburn. The Vols get the pleasure of getting blasted on national TV for the second week in a row.

7:30 (ESPN2) Mississippi State @ LSU. I don’t think Mississippi State is going to have a whole lot of fun in Baton Rouge.

7:45 (ESPN) Alabama @ Georgia. A battle of top 10 teams. The first chance for the SEC to really start beating themselves up. Will Georgia prove that it is national championship caliber, or will Alabama crash the party showing that the SEC championship goes through them?

8:00 (ABC) Illinois @ Penn State. Penn State has a chance to prove they are for real or at least as good as Missouri.


all times eastern

On Tap (The day after too much Scotch edition)

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007


Thursday

8:30 (ESPN) West Virginia @ Colorado. I have a sneaky suspicion that Colorado will win 17-14 in OT, just a feeling.


Friday

8:00 (ESPN2) Baylor @ Connecticut. Another one of those Friday night football games that you hope you are only watching it cause it is on in the background at whatever bar you happen to be in. Key Fact: This would be a better game if it were basketball.


Saturday

12:00 (BTN) Troy @ Ohio State. Troy has played top 25 teams tough the last few years, had they been catching the Buckeyes after a big win in SoCal I would say that they had a shot at an upset. Instead, they are running into an angry Ohio State team that has something to prove. Needless to say, this game is close going into the fourth before Ohio State pulls away. Key Fact: Troy’s mascot is the Trojan, that is enough to make me scared of them.

12:00 (ESPN) East Carolina @ NC State. East Carolina came close to coming back down to earth after barely getting past a pesky Tulane team on the road. They should get back on track knocking off a third team from a BCS conference. Key Fact: Listening to Lou Holtz talk (and by talk I mean slur) about his son’s team and getting almost teary eyed is probably the best part about him on ESPN.

3:30 (CBS) Florida @ Tennessee. One of the biggest rivalry games out there, although it seems that Florida has had the Vols number lately. Phil Fulmer’s seat could get a little hotter if Tennessee does not show up and at least give Florida a game. Key Fact: This game won’t be close and Urban Meyer will continue to run up the score cause he is a prick.

3:30 (ABC) Notre Dame @ Michigan State. This should be a surprisingly good game. Michigan State’s defense has looked solid and ND looks like there is some life in their offense. Notre Dame fed off of Michigan’s mistakes last week, hopefully MSU can make ND prove that they can win. Key Fact: It pains me to admit it but I am going to be rooting for Notre Dame to win, but that is only cause I want them to be undefeated so that their fans get back to the annoying levels that we all know and love just in time for me to travel to South Bend and watch Purdue shut them up.

7:00 (ESPN2) Wake Forest @ Florida State. FSU has lost two in a row to Wake Forest. Yes, you read that correctly. Last time Wake visited Tallahassee they walked away with a 30-0 win. It shouldn’t be that easy this go around, even though FSU has only played games against 1-AA teams. Key Fact: Has any team that has fallen off the college football map shown more early season promise year in and year out for us only to find out they still suck than Florida State.

7:45 (ESPN) LSU @ Auburn. Even though this game did not get the prime ABC billing it will probably be the best game of the night. Both teams are ranked in the top 10 and the winner puts themselves in the lead of the SEC west. Key Fact: Expect this to be low scoring (not 3-2 low scoring).

8:13 (ABC) Georgia @ Arizona State. This game lost a little bit of its luster when ASU could not get past UNLV. A few people (crazy people) have said that the PAC is one of the better conferences in the county, last weekend’s 0-4 performance against the Mountain West slowed that talk. Coupled with a shellacking at home by Georgia should effectively end it. Key Fact: Dennis Erickson is two years away from having the appropriate number of criminals on his team to compete for a BCS bid.

all times eastern

On Tap

No time for a real write up, just some games that should be good (or hideously awful)

Friday

8:00 (ESPN2) Kansas at South Florida (good)

Saturday

12:00 (BTN) Montana State at Minnesota (awful)

3:30 (ABC) Oregon at Purdue (good)

3:30 (NBC) Michigan at Notre Dame (awful)

8:00 (ABC) Ohio State at USC (Oh how I hope it is good)

10:30 (ESPN2) Wisconsin at Fresno State (good)

On Tap

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007

Nice and abbreviated this week (and somehow the font and size got all jacked up and I don't have the time to deal with it)

Thursday

8:30 (ESPN) South Carolina @ Vanderbilt. Another Thursday night with Steve Spurrier.

Friday

7:00 (ESPN) Navy @ Ball State. Somehow I have the feeling that Navy is going to run the ball, a lot.

Saturday

12:00 (ESPN2) Miami (OH) @ Michigan. The Wolverines need this win to avoid starting 0-2 for the second consecutive season.

12:00 (ESPN) Ohio @ Ohio State. No Beanie should be no problem against the Bobcats.

3:00 (FSN) BYU @ Washington. Washington got stomped last week by the Ducks and things are not going to get much easier against a BYU team that is looking for a chance to play in a BCS bowl.

3:30 (ABC) Cincinnati @ Oklahoma. I have heard some experts say that this game has upset potential. I think Brian Kelly is a fine coach at Cinci, but I just can’t see them going into Norman and knocking off the Sooners.

3:30 (ABC) Oregon State @ Penn State. The Oregon State Beavers travel to Beaver Stadium to take on Penn State. I think it is just too coincidental for the Beavers not to pull a mild upset in Beaver Stadium. Then again OSU lost to Stanford last week and that is never good for any team.

3:30 (NBC) San Diego State @ Notre Dame. Talk about a great team to open up against for ND. SDSU lost to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo while giving up 263 yards on the ground and gaining only 27 for themselves. As much as it pains me to admit ND should have a much better year, as a result of a year of experience and a much more generous schedule.

4:30 (ESPN) WVU @ East Carolina. Can ECU knock off a second ranked team in a row? The Big East has been hurting early this season and a loss here would do nothing to help their credibility. A win for ECU makes them yet another non-BCS conference team dreaming of a big January 1^st pay day.

8:00 (ESPN) Miami (FL) @ Florida. Florida has not beaten Miami since sometime in the mid 80’s. If there was every a year to end that streak this should be it.

all times eastern

The Return of On Tap

Helping you get your weekend (football) viewing priorities straight since 2007


Thursday


8:00 (ESPN) NC State @ South Carolina. Technically not the first game of the season, but the first game available to the masses. I will generally tune into any game that Steve Spurrier is coaching a team other than Florida just to see how frustrated he gets with the inferior talent that he has.

9:00 (ESPN2) Oregon State @ Stanford. Get your Cardinal season tickets, if they suck too badly for your liking they will refund your money (but only if you give the tickets to the USC game back).


Saturday


12:00 (BTN) Youngstown State @ Ohio State. I get the Big Ten Network?? I mean, I get the Big Ten Network!!!!!! Oh how I can’t wait for the mid week Northwestern – Indiana women’s volleyball match.

12:00 (ESPN) Virginia Tech vs. East Carolina (Charlotte). I have nothing special to say here, other than a noon game available to people with out the BTN (does anybody not get the BTN?).

3:30 (ABC) Utah @ Michigan. The beginning of the RichRod era at Michigan. As much as I hate people piling on the Big Ten I can’t help but hope Utah wins this game. I can’t stand Rodriguez. As I read somewhere (can’t remember or I would cite it) “Lloyd Carr could not coach his way out of a paper bag, but he was always a class act”. I miss Lloyd and his gray sweatshirt already.

3:30 (ABC) USC @ Virginia. Of course since scUM will be dominating the airways in the Midwest I will not be able to watch this game. USC should pound UVA but it is nice to see them go on the road to play a non-conference BCS team the first week of the season. And stranger upsets have happened in week 1s past.

5:00 (ESPN) Appalachian State @ LSU. Something like only the fourth time that two outright champions from different divisions have played each other in the year following their championships (good to know huh?).

8:00 (ABC) Alabama vs. Clemson (Atlanta). Another BCS conference match up in the week one slate. Clemson should have a solid chance to win the ACC and Bama is looking to build off the 7 point loss at home to Louisiana State (and Louisana-Monroe two weeks later).

8:00 (ABC) Michigan State @ California. A win for MSU would help start changing the national perception of the Big Ten. A win for Cal would not mean a whole lot, but a loss would just be a start to another season of underachieving.

8:30 (ESPN) Illinois vs. Missouri (St. Louis). Arguably the best game of the day, depending on whether or not Juice Williams shows up to play more than just an over glorified running back for the Illini. Mizzou is looking to kick off there season in attempt to win not just the Big 12 but possibly a shot at the national title.


Sunday


3:30 (ESPN) Kentucky @ Louisville. A great big battle of who the f cares, but it is Sunday and it is football.


Monday


4:00 (ESPN) Fresno State @ Rutgers. Fresno State starts their campaign to be the third straight WAC team to crash the BSC. Rutgers just hopes to enjoy the last year of Greg Schaino before he heads off to resurrect Penn State.

8:00 (ESPN) Tennessee @ UCLA. I have no idea what to think of these teams. UCLA should be at least interesting (in a scandal sort of way) with Rich Neuheisel at the helm, and I keep hearing grumblings about the new offense at Tenn is supposed to liven things up. I just don’t know how the quarterback is going to get this signs with Fat Phil Fulmer clogging up the sidelines.

On Tap (Championship Week Edition)

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007

You can fill in most of the gaps on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with quarterfinals and semifinals games. Get out a pencil and paper and start picking your upset special teams.

Friday

4:45 (ESPN2) Patriot League Championship

Saturday

11:30 (CBS) Conference USA Championship

12:00 (ESPN2) America East Championship

1:30 (ESPN) ACC Semifinal #1

1:40 (CBS) Big Ten Semifinal #1

4:00 (CBS) Big Ten Semifinal #2

4:00 (ESPN) ACC Semifinal #2

6:00 (CBS) Pac Ten Championship

6:00 (ESPN) Atlantic 10 Championship

7:00 (ESPN2) MAC Championship

7:00 (Versus) Mountain West Championship

7:00 (ESPNU) SWAC Championship

8:00 (ESPU) MEAC Championship

9:00 (ESPN) Big East Championship

9:00 (ESPN2) WAC Championship

11:00 (ESPN) Big West Championship

Sunday

11:00 (ESPN) ACC Championship

1:00 (CBS) SEC Championship

1:00 (ESPN2) Southland Championship

3:00 (ESPN) Big 12 Championship

3:30 (CBS) Big Ten Championship

6:00 (CBS, ESPN) Selection Show

On Tap

Due to me working far too much this week the On Tap feature may not show up until sometime Friday or not at all. In other words, check your local listings.

On Tap

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007

Thursday

7:00 (ESPN) Pittsburgh @ Notre Dame. Pitt is playing for NCAA tourney seeding. ND still has a shot the number 1 seed at the Big East tourney. They don’t have the easiest schedule left, but if they find a way to win out the #1 seed is theirs.

9:00 (ESPN2) Michigan @ Minnesota. Neither of these teams are going to be going to the big dance (unless they pull of some real shockers and win the Big 10 tourney), but Minnesota is probably playing for a NIT berth.

Saturday

10:00 AM (FSC) West Ham @ Fulham. Battle of the hams.

12:00 (FSC) Manchester United @ Newcastle United. Man U looks to keep their Premiership title hopes afloat and Newcastle would like nothing more than to sink them (as well as find some owner(s) who aren’t constantly trying to sell the team).

12:00 (ESPN) Connecticut @ Villanova. Saturday Big East noon game. Villanova needs to pick up a couple of wins to secure their spot in the tournament, the Big East tournament that is. UConn has a real shot of picking up the #1 at Madison Square Garden.

3:00 (ESPN2) Creighton @ Oral Roberts. A solid bracket buster game. Creighton has not been quite as good as in the last couple of years, but Oral Roberts has been solid at 19-6 with two losses to top 20 teams.

4:00 (CBS) St. John’s @ Duke. An annual tradition renewed. Also, note a Duke game not on the ESPN family of networks, this equals no Dickie V meaning eminently more watchable.

5:00 (ESPN2) Drake @ Butler. A bracket buster game that you should definitely check out. Drake has been a surprise in the Missouri Valley this season (having already clinched the regular season championship) and Butler has been a mid major on the rise for the last couple of years. Both of the teams are good enough to get past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. This should be a great game, as well as most peoples first chance to get a look at Drake.

9:00 (ESPN) Tennessee @ Memphis. #1 vs. #2 in the coaches poll meet up during the regular season for the first time since… last year.

Sunday

2:00 (CBS) Syracuse @ Notre Dame. Notre Dame’s second showing this week.

2:00 (NBC) Accenture Match Play. This could possibly be interesting if a Tiger vs. Phil or Tiger vs. some other high profile player match up takes place. Then again it could really suck if we get Bradley Dredge vs. Rod Pampling.

4:00 (CBS) Wisconsin @ Ohio State. OSU is sure getting a lot of national exposure on Sunday afternoons, a lot of losing exposure that is.

On Tap (Too sick to make up facts edition)

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007

Thursday

7:00 (ESPN) NC State @ Boston College

9:00 (ESPN2) Fordham @ UMass.

Friday

9:00 (ESPN) Pitt @ Marquette. Great Big East game, in a rare ESPN Friday night college hoops broadcast.

Saturday

10:00 AM (FSC) Barnsley @ Liverpool

12:00 (ESPN) Georgetown @ Syracuse

1:00 (CBS) Virginia Tech @ North Carolina

2:00 (ESPN) Louisville @ Providence

6:00 (ESPN) Texas @ Baylor

9:00 (ESPN) Michigan State @ Our coach is a cheat, you knew it, we knew it, we hired him anyhow U*

Sunday

11:00 AM (FSC) Portsmouth @ Preston North End

1:00 (CBS) Ohio State @ Michigan

* That would be Indiana

On Tap

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007

On Tap

Thursday

7:00 (ESPN) BC @ UNC. If UNC is the spoiled can do no wrong first born child in the ACC hoops family, then BC is the neglected adopted kid that barely relates to the rest of the kids, but regularly pulls an upset in a game and really pisses the spoiled brat off*.

9:00 (ESPN2) NC State @ Duke. More Duke basketball. Seriously do they play any games that are not on the ESPN family of networks? Meanwhile NC State has just not been up to the caliber of the rest of the research triangle teams lately and that probably is not going to change too much this year.

Saturday

10:00 AM (FSC) Chelsea @ Portsmouth. I just know how much you love soccer showing up in this space. Here we have a matchup of perennial league title contender (Chelsea) against a team that is just sitting on the outside looking in at a spot in next season’s European competitions (Portsmouth).

12:00 (FSC) Sunderland @ Liverpool. This game features Sunderland, only 3 points removed from relegation, and Liverpool, who is supposed to be a world beater but has really struggled (by their standards) this season, currently sitting in 6^th place.

12:00 (ESPN) Syracuse @ Villanova. The Big East is such a great basketball conference (seriously). Both of these teams are probably NCAA tournament caliber teams, but they are both currently sitting in the bottom half (yeah it is early) of the league standings.

2:00 (ESPN) Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech. The only reason I suggest watching this game is the off chance Bob Knight throws a fit, or a chair, or even a baby.

9:00 (ESPN) Arizona @ UCLA. A matchup of traditional PAC 10 powerhouses. Arizona has been struggling a little bit with coach Lute Olson on hiatus with no real time table for when (or if) he will be back. UCLA has final four caliber written all over them.

Sunday

11:00 AM (FSC) Aston Villa @ Fullham. The team with popular American owners (Villa) takes on the team with a plethora of American born players (Fullham).

6:17 (FOX). NY Giants vs. New England Patriots. If this game turns out to be as bad as the experts predict, there better be some damn good commercials to keep people entertained. Also, as much as I am a fan of a playoff system, this is one of those times where the NCAA looks like they do it right, I would rather see a team that has not already played the Patriots in the regular season, that would have ruled out the NFC #1 team Dallas, so I guess it would have had to been the Packers. Key Fact: I would like to see the Giants win so the Boston fans can go back to crying about how their teams have not won a title since way back in 2007.

* In this analogy Duke is obviously the prissy sister.

On Tap (slim pickins edition)

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities crooked since 2007

On Tap

Thursday

7:00 (ESPN) Duke @ Virginia Tech. Woohoo Duke is back in the top 5!!! Feel the excitement. It seems like every year VT knocks off a top ranked ACC team, hopefully today can be that day. Key Fact: I lived with a Duke fan for two years who did not know jack about sports, but would go bat shit crazy every time the Dookies were on TV.

9:00 (ESPN2) Michigan State @ Northwestern. If the Michigan State team that scores less than 35 points in a game shows up, Northwestern might (I said might) have a chance.

Saturday

12:00 (FSC*) Chelsea @ Wigan Athletic. More soccer (football)!!!! This is not a Premier League match, but a FA Cup Tie. Don’t know what that is? Don’t worry about it.

12:00 (ESPN) Gonzaga @ Memphis. A solid game between two teams that are usually too good for the mediocre conferences they play in. This is one of those game you want to watch if you tend to be a little too serious about your bracket in March.

3:00 (CBS) Buick Invitional. Tiger Woods makes his PGA Tour season debut.

4:00 (ESPN) Wisconsin @ Purdue. Big Ten basketball not on the Big Ten Network, got to love it.

7:00 (ESPN) Georgetown @ West Virginia. An interesting Big East matchup. Not so long ago Georgetown was an unquestioned final four contender. WVU is well… well Bob Huggins is their coach. Take that for what is worth**.

Sunday

11:00 AM (FSC) Manchester City @ Sheffield United. More FA Cup football. Still don’t know what that means? I was kidding when I said don’t worry about it 15 lines ago, get yourself to Wikipedia and read up on this stuff. What is wrong with you people?

1:00 (CBS) Michigan @ Michigan State. A little bit of rivalry hoops, one of those games where you can throw the records out the window. Too bad for Michigan they can not toss of few of the MSU starters out with the records.

6:30 (FOX). Super Bowl!!! Excuse me? There is a week off? WTF?

*That would be the Fox Soccer Channel

** That would be about 1 DUI and a 14% graduation rate.

On Tap

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007

On Tap

Thursday

7:00 (ESPN) Vanderbilt @ Tennesse. Tennessee has been a solid top 15 caliber team since Bruce Pearl took the helm. Vandy has been a pleasant surprise this year, and this is another chance to prove they belong amongst the teams fighting for a tourney spot.

7:00 (ESPNU) George Mason @ Hofstra. Games in the CAA are important these days now that the NCAA has precedence for allowing more than one team from these conferences into the NCAA tournament.

9:00 (ESPN) Indiana @ Minnesota. Tubby Smith has really done wonders up in Minneapolis, I bet Kentucky is missing him a little bit right now. Indiana freshman Eric Gordon is probably one and done so catch him while you can.

Saturday

10:00 AM (FSC*) Arsenal @ Fulham. Arsenal could do no better than getting a draw last week and now sit second in the table. Fulham is trying to fight off relegation. Key Fact: There can be no tanking in soccer or you just end up in a new division with less money, that would be awesome incentive for bottom dwellers in all sports (you know if American sports ever adopted this system).

12:00 (FSC*) Bolton @ Newcastle. Two mid-table teams just hoping to have an outside shot at a UEFA Cup spot. Key Fact: Assuming you have no idea what the UEFA Cup is: here is some info.

12:00 (ESPN) Villanova @ Syracuse. Big East battle in the Carrier Dome, the biggest venue in college hoops.

3:30 (ABC) Maryland @ North Carolina. #1 Carolina took a scare from GT Wednesday night and Maryland is always prime to upset high ranked ACC foes.

3:30 (CBS) Ohio State @ Tennessee. OSU knocked off Tennessee in the last seconds of two games last year. I don’t think OSU will get off so easy this time around. Tennessee brings back almost their whole sweet 16 team of last year and the young Bucks have struggled against anyone with talent.

6:00 (ESPN) Clemson @ Duke. Time to root against Duke. It is amazing how every year Duke has a good team, even in the years when they don’t pick up a super star they still have 5 guys who can go out an beat just about anybody. My only question is why do they have to recruit the biggest tools on the planet? If you are a douche and you can play basketball are you required to go to Duke?

9:00 (ESPN) Kentucky @ Florida. I think ESPN was hoping that this would be a little better game when it got put on the schedule. Florida is a young team that is just finding themselves. Kentucky is a confused team that is finding it hard to get it together under their new coach Billy Gillespie.

Sunday

11:00 AM (FSC) West Ham @ Manchester City. Man City is trying to fight their way into the upper echelon of the Premier League. West Ham is also a team on the rise.

3:00 (CBS) San Diego @ New England. 17-0 New England Patriots are now two games away from ultimate perfection. San Diego, thanks to their backup quarterback and running back are in the AFC title game for the first time in 10 years. Key Fact: Phillip River is a douche and hope Billy Volek gets a chance to lead the Chargers to the Super Bowl while Rivers sits on the sideline and bad mouths the New England fans.

6:30 (FOX) NY Giants @ Green Bay. The Giants can thank Jerry Jones for their spot here, reportedly Jones was so confident in his Cowboys that he had already gave each player two tickets to the NFC championship game (brilliant). Key Fact: Eli vs. Farve, could you have a more polar extreme between two quarterbacks? Eli looks like he wants nothing to do with football, while Farve will probably play until is 80. Farve is the savior of Green Bay, Eli is just another NY Giant quarterback. Farve may be one of the top 6 quarterbacks of all time, Eli is Peyton’s brother.

*that would be Fox Soccer Channel, get used to it.

On Tap (BCS + Wildcard Weekend)

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007

Wednesday

8:00 (FOX) Fiesta Bowl Oklahoma vs. West Virginia. WVU comes into this game missing ex-head coach Rich Rodriguez. OU comes in hot after winning the Big 12 championship. Rumor has it we could have had a OU/VT match-up in the Orange Bowl before the BCS squashed that idea, I would much rather had that game than the two we are getting. Key Fact: The fans in Morgantown would love to burn some couches after a win, but I am pretty sure if there were any left over after the Pitt loss they were burned when Rich Rod left town, oh and also, WVU is going to lose.

Thursday

8:00 (FOX) Orange Bowl Virginia Tech vs. Kansas. Of all the teams in the BCS Kansas deserves to be here least of all. They are in the game while the team that beat them (Missouri) is ranked higher and was regulated to the Cotton Bowl. Virginia Tech has recovered nicely this season after the early blowout loss to LSU and they avenged the loss to BC in the ACC title game. Key Fact: Kansas lost to the only good team they played this season and VT is a 3 times better team than Mizzou (IMHO), so enjoy Miami now Jayhawk fans, because it looks like after the game will not be too much fun.

Saturday

12:00 (ESPN2) International Bowl Rutgers vs. Ball State. Yes a Bowl game in Toronto!! Really what can you say about this game that has not already been ignored. Key Fact: Rutgers coach turned down the Michigan job because he thought the Rutgers job was superior. Umm … all that comes to mind is hahahaha.

4:30 (NBC) Washington @ Seattle. NFC wildcard game. Playoff game, in December, in Seattle, can you say rainy and cold? Washington has played inspired football behind backup QB Todd Collins. Also after the Sean Taylor tragedy it is nice to see the Redskins doing well as a team. The Seaturkeys are in the playoffs because you, me, and 9 random guys could have won a couple of games in the NFC west. Key Fact: If I was commissioner of the NFL my first order of business would be to officially change the Seahawks name to Seaturkeys. Why? Because I could, or at least I think I could.

8:00 (NBC) Jacksonville @ Pittsburgh. AFC wildcard game. If they Browns did not suck and could have taken care of business against Cincinnati two weeks ago they would be hosting this game (for the record I am not bitter). Two weeks ago on Monday night Jacksonville absolutely throttled Pittsburgh (although the Steelers made the score nice and respectable). Key Fact: Since Pittsburgh lost “Fast” Willie Parker, to a broken leg, they have just not been the same team.

Sunday

1:00 (FOX) NY Giants @ Tampa Bay. NFC wildcard game. Eli Manning vs. Jeff Garcia in a battle of two of the most sensitive quarterbacks in the NFL. This is one of those games where the road team has a better record, but did not win their division so they have to travel to a less impressive team’s stadium. Man they should just have some ranking system to decide who the best two teams are while all of the other teams in the league play in exhibition games in warm climates. I really think that would save a lot of time and money for the NFL. Key Fact: Since the Browns are going to be as involved in the playoffs as I am, I have decided that my rooting interests revolve around an all Manning Superbowl.

4:30 (CBS) Tennessee @ San Diego. AFC wildcard game. If the Colts were not so content to go into the playoffs with a lose the Browns could have been in this game instead of the Titans (no seriously, not bitter). San Diego hired Norv Turner to win in the playoffs and taking on Tennessee with an injured Vince Young should help SD get at least one win. Key Fact: LaDainian Tomlinson wears a tinted eye shield so that his super intense stare does knock down defenders giving him an unfair advantage.

8:00 (ESPN) GMAC Bowl Bowling Green vs. Tulsa. I love that they sneak these lousy bowls in right before the championship game. That said Tulsa is a pretty fun team to watch running the hurry up no huddle spread throwing the ball all over the place. If you are not footballed out after the NFL games tune in for a little of this. Key Fact: Bowling Green has some of the worst uniforms in college, hopefully for the sake of anyone with a high def TV they will be wearing their road white, because if they have the orange on it might get burned into your set forever.

Monday

8:00 (FOX) BCS Championship Game LSU vs. Ohio State. The winner of this game will be the first team of the BCS era to capture a second title. Key Fact: This is brief, but perhaps sometime this weekend I will write up something more profound about this game, either that or I will link to someone else who has.

On Tap (New Years Day Edition)

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007

Almost exclusively college football, with a couple of NFL playoff implication games thrown in for good measure.

Thursday

8:00 (ESPN) Holiday Bowl - Arizona State vs. Texas. Arguably the best non-BCS bowl game of the year. ASU surprised a few people by challenging for the Pac-10 title for a little while this season, Texas had a less than ideal season (by Texas standards) but not much was expected from this team. Key Fact: Mac Brown (head coach Texas) has really struggled in big games that Vince Young has not been his quarterback.

Friday

5:00 (ESPN) Champs Sports Bowl - Boston College vs. Michigan State. From #2 in the BCS to the Champs Sports Bowl, kind of a tough fall for BC. MSU will be without their top pass rusher, which should make things tough against the prolific passing of BC QB Matt Ryan. Key Fact: After scoring a first quarter touch down, Matt Ryan will tackle coach Jagodinski in celebration taking him out for the rest of the game.

8:00 (#^%^@ NFL Network) Texas Bowl - TCU vs. Houston. A battle of former SWAC foes. TCU was supposed to be a possible BCS buster, but had a mediocre year. Houston lost their head coach to Baylor. Key Fact: TCU’s mascot is a horned frog, I am sure this is and indigenous species to Texas, but you are telling me they could not come up with a better mascot (hint: Armadillos).

8:30 (ESPN) Emerald Bowl - Maryland vs. Oregon State. The Terrapins take on the Beavers in an all aquatic battle in San Francisco. Maryland’s Ralph Friedgen challenges Mark Mangino for the fastest head coach in the FBS. Oregon State’s Mike Riley is in his second stint with the school and has not been able to attain the same BCS magic the Dennis Erickson had while he was at OSU. Key Fact: Fear the Turtle.

Saturday

1:00 (ESPN) Meineke Car Care - Bowl UConn vs. Wake Forest. Two traditional football powerhouses in a big time bowl game. Seriously though, UConn vs. WF in a post season battle, this has to be a sweet sixteen game. These teams are going to be shocked when they show up and hardwood has been laid down on top of the turf. Key Fact: This game is proof of the parity in college football these days, not too many years ago UConn was a 1-AA school and Wake Forest was like Duke.

4:30 (ESPN) Liberty Bowl - Central Florida vs. Mississippi State. Mississippi State in their first bowl game since… well I have no idea and I am too lazy to look it up. CFU, lead by notorious resume doctorer George O’Leary, had a very nice year, winning the C-USA championship and almost knocking off Texas earlier this season. Key Fact: There are too many games and I can only make so much shit up.

8:00 (ESPN) Alamo Bowl - Penn State vs. Texas A&M. Great things were expected of Penn State this season, apparently some things don’t go as planned. A&M had a pretty typical year for the Aggies, mediocre all year long and then knock off rival Texas. Key Fact: Joe Paterno is old and underpaid. He may not have won too many championships lately but what he has done for PSU is worth far more than a half million per year.

Sunday

1:00 (FOX) San Francisco @ Cleveland. A last audition for Derek Anderson to keep his starting job next year, in case you have not been watching he has struggled the second half. Key Fact: It almost does not matter what the Browns do in this game (see below).

8:00 (ESPN) Independence Bowl - Alabama vs. Colorado. I would like to say something good about this game, really I would. Key Fact: You really have to love college football to watch this game.

8:15 (NBC) Tennessee @ Indianapolis (NFL). If the Titans win they are in the playoffs, if they lose the Browns are in. Key Fact: The only way the out come of the Browns game means anything is if the Titans and Colts tie.

Monday

12:30 (ESPN) Armed Forces Bowl - Cal vs. Air Force. Yet another game featuring a team that was ranked #2 at sometime this year (Cal). This game also features something more common than teams ranked #2, that would be a team that beat Notre Dame (AF). The Air Force hybrid option game should give Cal fits, and with the absolute second half collapse of Cal I would not expect them to be real hyped up about playing in the Armed Forces Bowl. Key Fact: It is always a pleasure to watch the service academies play, and this game should be no different, regardless that is being played at 12:30 on a Monday.

2:00 (ESPN2) Humanitarian Bowl - Georgia Tech vs. Fresno State. Two Words: Smurf Turf. There is really no other reason to tune into watch this game other than watching that hypnotic blue turf. Key Fact: This has nothing to do with this game, but I am very intrigued to see what kind of offense Paul Johnson (formerly of Navy) will be bringing with him to Atlanta next year.

2:00 (CBS) Sun Bowl - South Florida vs. Oregon. A game featuring two teams that were #2 at some point this year. Dennis Dixon is out for Oregon making this game significantly less exciting. Key Fact: Oregon has not beaten anyone since Dixon went down. Also, Oregon barely plays defense, so USF should have a banner day.

4:00 (ESPN) Music City Bowl - Florida State vs. Kentucky. University of “we beat LSU” Kentucky and Florida “we are going to bring our JV team because all of our starters cheated on an online exam” State will be playing in possible the least exciting bowl game of the year. Key Fact: 7 years ago Florida State’s walk-ons would have probably defeated Kentucky’s first string, this year I am not sure if FSU starters could get out with a win.

5:30 (#^%^@ NFL Network) Insight Bowl - Indiana vs. Oklahoma State. Indiana is in a bowl!!!! Actually this is probably the feel good story of the year. After the passing of head coach Terry Hoepner the Hoosiers found a way to pull together and achieve Hep’s goal of playing 13. Key Fact: OK State lost their offensive coordinator to Southern Miss, it will be interesting to see what kind of effect this has on their high octane offense.

7:30 (ESPN) Chick-fil-A Bowl - Clemson vs. Auburn. Hmmm, two words come to mind when I think about this game…orange and tigers. It will be pretty confusing if the announcers continually refer to the tigers during the game. Key Fact: Tommy Tubberville and Tommy Bowden are routinely on the coaching hot seat, the loser of this game will have the pleasure of staring the season on a slightly warmer seat than the other.

Tuesday

11:00 (ESPN) Outback Bowl - Wisconsin vs. Tennessee. SEC speed vs. Big Ten power #1. Everyone seems to forget that last year the Big Ten won two of the three games like this played. I expect Wisco to just pound PJ Hill into the UT front. Tennessee has struggled against teams that show up with a physical defense. Key Fact: Unless Phil Fulmer wins (more) national titles Tennessee fans will never embrace him. I found this hard to understand until my cousin who attends Tennessee compared Fulmer to John Cooper, and then it all became crystal clear.

11:30 (FOX) Cotton Bowl - Missouri vs. Arkansas. If the Holiday Bowl is not the best non-BCS bowl, this one definitely is. Missouri was passed over for BCS spots by two teams they defeated this season (Kansas, Illinois). Arkansas will still be riding high off of their Thanksgiving weekend upset of #1 (current #2) LSU. It will be interesting to see how Arkansas will do with out the services of their former head coach (and resident wacko) Houston Nutt. Key Fact: This game features two of the 4 Heisman finalists (McFadden and Daniel) so look out for some wild individual performances from them or their co-stars Felix Jones or Jeremy Maclin.

1:00 (CBS) Gator Bowl - Texas Tech vs. Virginia. Solid D vs. we will throw the ball on first, second, third, and possibly fourth down. Really though this is what bowl season is all about, providing match-ups that you would not normally see, this game is one of the more intriguing games of the season. Key Fact: Texas Tech head coach (and part-time pirate) Mike Leach has been a rumored candidate for many head coach openings this bowl season. It will be interesting to see what he can do when some high profile team with NFL caliber athletes gives him a shot.

1:00 (ABC) Capital One Bowl - Florida vs. Michigan. SEC speed vs. Big Ten power #2. OK, it would seem that Florida is going to pound Michigan (honestly I would be shocked, shocked, if anything other than that happened), but there is a reason the games are not played on paper. Key Fact: Rumor has it now that Tim Tebow has won the Heisman trophy as a sophomore he will retire from football to challenge the record of the youngest man to be elected Pope.

4:30 (ABC) Rose Bowl - USC vs. Illinois. The Rose Bowl passed up a USC – Georgia match-up to preserve the traditional Big Ten – Pac Ten set up. I understand why they did this, but for their sake I hope this game is better than the experts think it will be. Key Fact: Ron Zook taking on Pete Carroll in a battle of grey haired dudes who can recruit the pants off of anybody in college football.

8:30 (FOX) Sugar Bowl - Georgia vs. Hawaii. Another WAC team with something to prove. After last year I think it would be prudent of Georgia to take Hawaii very seriously. The Warriors should be able to put some points on the board, but I will be surprised if they can slow down the Georgia offense. Key Fact: You have to love watching teams with a unique offense going up against a team that has far more talent. It is fun to watch the game planning and in game strategy that has to take place for the weaker team to win.

* there is very little respect for the word fact around here.

all times eastern

On Tap (Wednesday Edition)

7:30 ESPN Motor City Bowl Purdue vs. Central Michigan. CMU and super quarterback Dan LeFevour take on the Boilermakers. Expect a few points to be scored in this game. Key Fact: LeFevour is only the second quarterback ever to pass for 3000 yards and run for 1000 yards in the same season. The other... Vince Young.

Back tomorrow with On Tap taking you through the New Years Day Bowls.

On Tap (College Football Championship Edition)

Helping you get your weekend viewing priorities straight since 2007

Friday

7:30 (ESPNU) UMass vs. Ohio State. Men’s Soccer Final 4. Key Fact: This is soccer, I expect no one who is reading this will watch this game, but I thought just in case I would let you know that it is on.

8:00 (ESPN2) Delaware vs. Appalachian State. Division 1 (AA) Football Championship game. It is fitting that App State plays a team in blue and yellow with winged helmets to end the year, now if only Delaware was coached by Lloyd Carr. App. State is playing for their 3^rd title in 3 years. Key Fact: This game should be an awesome battle between quarterbacks with vastly different styles: Joe Flacco (Delaware) is a classic drop back passer with NFL aspirations, and Armanti Edwards (App. St.), a duel threat QB with 1750 yards passing and 1499 yards rushing.

Saturday

12:00 (ESPN) Oklahoma State vs. Pitt. (hoops)

12:00 (ESPN2) NW Missouri State vs. Valdosta State. NCAA Division II National Championship. NWMS avenged last year’s championship loss to Grand Valley State (while also ending GVSU’s 40 game winning streak) in one of the semifinals, and Valdosta came back to defeat California (of Pennsylvania that is) in the other. Key Fact: I watched about 9 minutes of NWMS’s last game, their running back looked quite good.

1:00 (CSTV) Sioux Falls vs. Carroll. NAIA National Championship. Sioux Falls is trying to repeat as national champion. Carroll is trying to regain the throne that they held for the previous 4 years before Sioux Falls. Key Fact: I attended Montana Tech for undergrad and Carroll College was like our Michigan. Imagine watching Michigan play for 5 out of 6 national titles while rolling over OSU two times per year; how bad would that suck? Plus my sister went to Carroll. So GO SIOUX FALLS!!!

2:00 (ESPN) UAB vs. Kentucky. (hoops)

3:00 (ESPN2) Arkansas vs. Oklahoma. (hoops)

3:30 (CBS) Louisville @ Purdue. (hoops)

4:00 (ESPN) Mount Union vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater. Division III National Championship. Does Mount Union ever not play for the D-III title? That is a serious question, not that I watch a lot of D-III football but I can’t remember a year where they were not in the game. (Some quick wikipediaing has revealed since 1996 Mount Union has been in all but 2 title games where they have won 8, losing only once). This is the third straight year that the schools will face off for the title with Mount Union winning the two previous contests. Key Fact: Only the John Wooden led UCLA Bruins dynasty can even compare to the kind of dominance that has be laid down by Mount Union in the last 12 years.

5:00 (ESPN2) Ohio vs. Kansas. (hoops)

7:00 (ESPN2) Memphis vs. Middle Tennessee State. (hoops)

Sunday

1:00 (CBS) Buffalo @ Cleveland. The winner of this game will be in the driver’s seat for the final AFC Playoff spot. Key Fact: If you would have told me that at the beginning of the season I would have punched you in the jaw.

I still have not watched much college basketball. Once I have the faintest idea of what is going on, I will provide my usual limited/skewed/blatantly wrong analysis.

* there is very little respect for the word fact around here.

all times eastern