College Football Rankings - Top 16 + 1

It is time for Week 2 of the Stiles Points Top 16 +1 weekly rankings....
1. Southern Cal (#1) (4-0) - Stanford - the Trojans were not impressive, but it was one of those survival games....
2. LSU (#2) (5-0) - Florida - an impressive win this week over the hungry Gators may push the Bayou Bengals over USC....
3. Cal (#6) (5-0) - bye - an impressive, yet close win in a hostile stadium....they were fortunate that Cameron Colvin let the ball slip out of his hands....
4. S. Florida (NR) (4-0) - @ Fla. Atlantic - this is my poll and I am moving the Bulls to number 4....earlier this year they won at Auburn, who went into The Swamp and beat Florida....the win over W. Virginny caught people’s attention....

5. Florida (#3) (4-1) - the Gators lost to a very good Auburn team....a win this week over LSU will have them back in the top 3
6. Ohio State (#9) (5-0) - @ Purdue - beating up on YSU, Akron, Northwestern, and Minnesota does not mean that you will get ranked over Florida just yet....
7. Wisconsin (#10) (5-0) - @ Illinois - a nice win over Michigan State....but like the Buckeyes, the Badgers have a weak non-conference mark....
8. Kentucky (#12) (5-0) - @ South Carolina - the Cats magic ends on Thursday night in Columbia, S.C.....
9. Oklahoma (#5) (4-1) - vs. Texas - the Sooners blew a 24-7 lead....they might have been peeking at Texas with that 17-point lead....
10. Boston College (#13) (5-0) - vs. Bowling Green - Matt Ryan may be the best quarterback in the nation...

11. West Virginia (#4) (4-1) - @ Syracuse - yeh, I know Pat White got hurt in the S. Fla. game, but the Mountaineers were flat overall....a huge disappointment for a team with huge hopes...
12. Oregon (#7) (4-1) - bye - the Ducks had the misfortune of having the ball bounce the wrong way....
13. South Carolina (#15) (4-1) - vs. Kentucky - Spurrier got the ship back on track after the loss to LSU....they can gain some momentum by beating Kentucky....
14. Georgia (#16) (4-1) - @ Tennessee - the Dawgs took care of business against Ole Miss....they face a tough task at Rocky Top this week....Tennessee is looking for a big win....this will be a big test for Georgia...
15. Texas (#8) (4-1) - vs. Oklahoma - the Horns may be over-rated....they barely beat Arkansas State and C. Florida.....this is a watershed game against Oklahoma to determine how the rest of their season goes....
16. Purdue (NR) (5-0) vs. Ohio State - this may be a short stay for the Boilermakers as they take on the mighty Buckeyes....
+1 Illinois (4-1) vs. Wisconsin - a win this week will make the Fighting Illini a legitimate team for the Rose Bowl....

The New Middleweight Champion of the World from Youngstown, Ohio Baby!!!

The New WBC Middleweight
Champion of the World

Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik

From Youngstown, Ohio

Monday Morning G.M.

Here are some thoughts on Week 4 in the NFL:

Maybe the Oakland Raiders are not that bad....the Raiders are 2-2 and have played well in all of their games....the running game may have looked too good yesterday because they were playing the porous Miami defense....but when they come off the bye, Oakland will gain the services of Dominick Rhodes to go along with Lamont Jordan and Justin Fargas....and who is to say that Daunte Culpepper hasn’t found new life with the silver and black....it would not be the first time a "washed up" quarterback has come to lift the Raiders to new heights....remember Jim Plunkett....

Another team showing some life are the Cleveland Browns....it looks like wide receiver Braylon Edwards is finally becoming that homerun threat that he was supposed to be....however, he only had 1 more reception after that long touchdown in the first half....Cleveland needs to get the ball in his hands at least 6-8 times per game....

I’ve been reading that Arizona quarterback Matt Leinart has been a regular in hitting the party scene....he needs to get his act together - now.....Kurt Warner is a nice back-up, but he cannot lead this team through the next 12 games and into the playoffs....Leinart needs to step up now, something he was allegedly not doing concerning child payments for his newborn...

Let’s face it, the Bears are just a bad ball club with no running attack....as a team they finished with 69 yards on the ground....Chicago needs to get help because Cedric Benson is a bust as a featured back....

What ever happened to Neal Anderson? (photo) ....

The October 14th game between the Patriots and Cowboys is shaping up as a possible Super Bowl preview....

Will someone explain to me why Adrian Peterson carried the ball only 12 times for the Vikings?....are they saving him for the playoffs?....

Why didn’t Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Morningweg or head coach Andy Reid make an adjustment and get some help for left tackle William Justice?....the Giants sacked Donovan McNabb 12 times with six of the sacks coming from Osi Umenyiora going against Justice?....

The Lions bounced back nicely after taking a pounding last week from the Eagles...

I love watching games involving NFC East teams...is it just me or does anyone else feel that way too?...whenever the Eagles, Redskins, Cowboys, or Giants play against each other, it seems like the game comes down to the last few minutes...I can't get into watching NFC or AFC South teams and the same goes for NFC West...

LeBron James is rooting for the New York Yankees - who cares!

LeBron James is a New York Yankees fan. He has been a Yankees fan his whole life. He is rooting for the Yankees over the Cleveland Indians when they face off in the Divisional Series this week. Big Deal!! But for most Indians fans, this is a bitter pill to swallow. They have criticized The Chosen One because he is being true to the team he has rooted for since he was a kid. At least James has been true to his team his whole life unlike most of these Indians fans.

Yep, throughout the 1970s and 80s, you couldn’t pay a person in Ohio to wear an Indians cap. Then suddenly, when they started winning in the 1990s, everyone was an Indians fan - caps, jerseys, jackets were everywhere. And as soon as they started losing again this decade, those same fans who piled on the bandwagon once again hid their hats. These so-called "true diehard" Indians fans should be more upset with the fans who are now on the bandwagon; the ones who didn’t fill Jacobs Field over the last few years; the ones who didn’t support their team.

James rooting for the Yankees will have no impact on who will win the Yankees-Indians series. Zero impact. So who cares who he is rooting for?

It bothers people like Bob Feller, the 120-year-old Hall of Fame pitcher for the Indians who spouted off, "I'm going to a Cavaliers game and sit right by their bench, wearing a Detroit Pistons cap. Let's see how LeBron likes that." This is the same Feller who is still living in the 1940s and yearns for the days of Benny Goodman on the radio but will not give a free autograph to a person. Instead he will charge them $20.

Cleveland sports fans have to accept the fact that teams like the Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Dallas Cowboys, Notre Dame, and Los Angeles Lakers are national teams. They have devoted fans all across the nation because of their rich history and dominance in their sport.

These same knucklehead Cleveland fans don't realize how fortunate they are to have a quality player and person like James. He plays hard every time he puts on a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform. Every time! These same people who are sending in emails and letters to the newspapers and calling in talk radio complaining about James should spend more time questioning their councilperson or mayor as to why the city of Cleveland is considered one of the biggest dumps in this country with its high crime and poverty rate. Instead, they are upset because James is "rooting for the Yankees."

Would they rather have an athlete who lies and says that he is rooting for the home team when he really isn't? Or how about having an athlete who does root for the home team -- and also has a personal relationship with the city's police department because he is always in trouble. When was the last time you picked up the morning paper and read that James was involved in drugs, DUIs, beating women, dogfighting, tax evasion, etc. All he is doing is rooting for his favorite baseball team - the Yankees. Get over it! Maybe in a few years the Cleveland fans and old fart Feller won't have that problem anymore because James may be right at home wearing his Yankees hat while he gets ready for games in Madison Square Garden. Think about it.