College Football: My Bowl Predictions

By Russell Varner, WSOE Sports

Here are my bowl predictions.

Date/time (all ET)   -   Bowl  -   Matchup
Sat., Dec. 19  2:30 p.m.   -    New Mexico   -   Wyoming vs. Fresno State
O/U – 55 —– Frenso, Under
Sat., Dec. 19 8 p.m.  –   St. Petersburg   -    Rutgers vs. Central Florida
O/U – 44.5 —– Rutgers, Over
Sun., Dec. 20 8 p.m. -  New Orleans  -   Middle Tennessee vs. Southern Mississippi
O/U – 58 —– Southern Miss, Under
Tue., Dec. 22 8 p.m. -  Las Vegas   -    Brigham Young vs. Oregon State
O/U – 60.5 —— OSU, Over
Wed., Dec. 23 8 p.m.  –  Poinsettia   -   Utah vs. California
O/U – 53 —— Utah, Under
Thu., Dec. 24 8 p.m. -  Hawaii  -  SMU vs. Nevada
O/U – 73 —– Nevada, Under
Sat., Dec. 26 1 p.m.  –  Little Caesars   -  Ohio vs. Marshall
O/U – 49.5 —– Ohio, Under
Sat., Dec. 26 4 p.m.  -  Meineke Car Care    -    North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh
O/U – 44.5 —– Pitt, Under
Sat., Dec. 26 8:30 p.m.  -  Emerald  -   Southern California vs. Boston College
O/U – 44.5 —– USC, Over
Sun., Dec. 27 8 p.m.  -  Music City  -    Kentucky vs. Clemson
O/U – 52.5 —– Clemson, Under
Mon., Dec. 28 5 p.m. -  Independence   -  Georgia vs. Texas A&M
O/U – 64.5 —– Georgia, Under
Tue., Dec. 29 4:30 p.m.   -  EagleBank   -   Temple vs. UCLA
O/U – 46.5 —– UCLA, Over
Tue., Dec. 29 8 p.m. -  Champs Sports  -  Miami (Fla.) vs. Wisconsin
O/U – 57.5 —– Wisconsin, Under
Wed., Dec. 30 4:30 p.m.  -    Humanitarian  -  Idaho vs. Bowling Green
O/U – 68 —– Idaho, Under
Wed., Dec. 30 8 p.m.  –  Holiday  -  Arizona vs. Nebraska
O/U – 40 —– Nebraska, Under
Thu., Dec. 31 Noon  -  Armed Forces  -  Air Force vs. Houston
O/U – 62 —– Houston, Under
Thu., Dec. 31 Noon  -   Sun  -   Stanford vs. Oklahoma
O/U – 56.5 —– Oklahoma, Over
Thu., Dec. 31 2:30 p.m.  Texas   Missouri vs. Navy
O/U – 52.5 —– Mizzou, Over
Thu., Dec. 31 6 p.m. -  Insight  –  Minnesota vs. Iowa State
O/U – 48.5 —– Minnesota, Under
Thu., Dec. 31 7:30 p.m.  -  Chick-Fil-A   -  Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee
O/U – 49.5 —– VT, Under
Fri., Jan. 1 11 a.m.  -  Outback  -  Northwestern vs. Auburn
O/U – 54.5 —– Auburn, Over
Fri., Jan. 1 1 p.m.  –  Capital One  -   Penn State vs. LSU
O/U – 44 —– Penn State, Over
Fri., Jan. 1 1 p.m.  -  Gator  -  Florida State vs. West Virginia
O/U – 60.5 —– WVU, Under
Fri., Jan. 1 5 p.m.  –   Rose   -  Ohio State vs. Oregon
O/U – 51.5 —– Oregon, Under
Fri., Jan. 1 8:30 p.m.   -   Sugar -  Florida vs. Cincinnati
O/U – 57 —– Florida, Over
Sat., Jan. 2 Noon  -  International  -  South Florida vs. Northern Illinois
O/U – 50 —– USF, Under
Sat., Jan. 2 2 p.m.  –  Papajohns.com  -  South Carolina vs. Connecticut
O/U – 51.5 —– USC, Under
Sat., Jan. 2 2 p.m.  -  Cotton  -  Mississippi vs. Oklahoma State
O/U – 50.5 —– Mississippi, Over
Sat., Jan. 2 5:30 p.m.   -  Liberty  –  East Carolina vs. Arkansas
O/U – 63.5 —– Arkansas, Under
Sat., Jan. 2 9 p.m.  -   Alamo  -  Michigan State vs. Texas Tech
O/U – 60.5 —– TTU, Under
Mon., Jan. 4 8 p.m.  -   Fiesta  -  TCU vs. Boise State
O/U – 55 —– TCU, Under
Tue., Jan. 5 8 p.m.  -  Orange   -   Georgia Tech vs. Iowa
O/U – 51 —– Iowa, Under
Wed., Jan. 6 7 p.m.  -  GMAC   -   Troy vs. Central Michigan
O/U – 63.5 —– Central Michigan, Under
Thu., Jan. 7 8 p.m.  -  BCS title game  -  Alabama vs. Texas
O/U – 45 —– Alabama, Under

Contact Information:
Russell Varner
WSOE Sports
rvarner@elon.edu

NBA: The NBA Finally Gets It Right

By Russell Varner, WSOE Sports

Well, it looks like a sport finally gave the MVP award to the right person. It was announced early yesterday that LeBron James would be named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, the first of what is sure to be many in his young career. After the season LeBron has had, it was no contest as to who should be named MVP. In previous years, you would have great players like LeBron and Kobe on mediocre teams who clearly should have been named the MVP, but instead the award would go to the best player on the best team (just look at Dirk the won it for the Mavs…and then they lost in the first round to the eighth seeded Warriors). Last year, they gave finally gave the award to Kobe, the best player on the best team, but many can make the argument that Chris Paul deserved the award more than Kobe did. Not the case this year.

LeBron is CLEARLY the best player on the team with the best record in the NBA, has the best overall stats of any of the three main candidates for the award (him, Kobe and Dwayne Wade. Anyone who thought anyone else would win the award needs a nice smack in the head and a good wake up call) and LeBron has had more fun this year than any other player has had during one season. I would now like to bring your attention to the following link:

Click on it and watch the video. I don’t care if you have seen it before. Watch it again, because it is that damn good.

Has any team had as much fun as this Cavs team is having? Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that team for just one day? LeBron is a big part of that, because he brings his easy-going and relaxed nature to practice and games, but he knows when to turn it off. That’s what makes him so dangerous. Combine the talent LeBron has with the fun he is having playing (and playing for the love of the game, not money too). I can’t wait to see what’s next for LeBron this postseason (please let it be an epic Finals confrontation against Kobe. PLEASE).

Listen to Russell Varner and the Sports Time crew every Tuesday from 4:10-6:00 p.m.

Contact Information:
Russell Varner
WSOE Sports
rvarner@elon.edu

NBA: Great Start to the Playoffs

Russell Varner, WSOE Sports

Let me start off this week’s article by saying how great it is to have the NBA playoffs back, how much I missed it and how I’m still upset my Charlotte Bobcats didn’t make the playoffs this year. So close, and yet so far. Oh well, mark my words as you read this: if they can keep the core of their team together, they will be in the playoffs next year. And with a decent seed too…of course by decent I mean a 6 seed, but hey that would still be great.

Speaking of the playoffs, remember last year when barely any road teams won games? Even the powerful, can’t-be-stopped Celtics, who couldn’t beat a lowly, how-the-hell-did-they-even-make-the-playoffs Atlanta Hawks at their place. Or even win a road game until the Eastern Conference finals if my memory serves me correctly. All of the sudden, this year, the theme seems to be the exact opposite. Even though it is real early, road teams have won a surprising amount of games early on. The Mavs were able to take one from the Spurs, the Rockets at the Blazers, the Sixers somehow coming back against the Magic, and the Bulls beating the Celtics for the first time ever in the playoffs and nearly beating them again last night. What happened to defending your home court? This is what you fought all year for, in order to gain home court advantage in the playoffs. And surprisingly, teams aren’t defending it well lately. Why is that? Why the huge change from last year? And even more important, will it matter?

All the experts are calling for a Lakers-Cavs final, and right now it’s hard to see another outcome. Both teams are playing so well right now and no other team seems to be on the same level as these teams…or Kobe and LeBron, both of whom are playing on a completely different level than everyone else in the NBA, with the exception of Dwayne Wade. You know what, if we are doomed to see a Lakers-Cavs final, I’m perfectly fine with that, because it is the best final that the NBA and we as fans could ask for. The two best teams, the two best players in the game, two of the better coaches in the game today, it is exactly what we as fans want to see in the finals. So I say bring it on Lakers-Cavs championship matchup. I eagerly await Game 1 of your series.

Listen to Russell Varner and the Sports Time every Tuesday from 4:10-6:00pm.

Contact Information:
Russell Varner
WSOE Sports
rvarner@elon.edu

NBA: Battle of the Intros

By Russell Varner, WSOE Sports

You wanna know one of the reasons I still love the NBA? Because you still have characters like Shaq and LeBron James who do things like hilarious commercials and planned introductions? (Shaqtus and Shaqtastic should now be allowed in all Scramble games I say.) Oh yea, they make some plays on the court too.

I mean, have you seen some of the stuff they have been doing lately? It’s classic, funny and something all the fans look forward to. So, and you know someone was gonna ask this sooner or later, who has the better intro?

We’ll start with the man with a thousand self-given nicknames (breaking an unwritten rule there, but that’s another story), Shaquille O’Neal. He was the one who originally sent out a challenge to LeBron to see who has the better introduction and he has had some classics. First, there was the ‘Superman,’ where he is carried by many of his teammates as he flies like Superman. I think this is the most difficult of the intros, since the teammates actually have to hold up Shaq. And that’s pretty damn impressive. Major points for that. Introduction number two: bowling with teammates. Man, I love this one. The wobbly pin really makes this one as good as it is. Props for that.

Now let’s move onto King James. He has had the photo intro for a little while now and yet he and his teammates are still finding new variations to add onto it. I mean, how can you not love it? You got Delonte West jumping into his teammates’ arms and everyone acting like little kids. And this is on a nightly basis. You know I’ve got to reward him with some nice points for that, much like Tony Reali on Around the Horn (on a side note, I have now accomplished a side life goal of being Stat Boy from PTI for a day. Woo hoo). And then there is the Christmas Day game, when he gets the crowd involved in his chalk clap. Watch the video and tell me that is not one of the sickest things you have ever seen. That is just ridiculous. Hence, more points for LeBron and he wins. Sorry Shaq, gotta go with the young gun here. Hey, at least you’ll make the playoffs so you can….oh wait, never mind. Y’all forgot how to defend against the Mavs. Well, it’ll be weird to have a postseason with out you, Shaq. Maybe ESPN can open up an analyst spot for you, since they do for everyone else.

To see videos of the aforementioned intros, [click here].

Listen to Russell Varner and the Sports Time crew every Tuesday from 4:10-6:00 p.m.

Contact Information:
Russell Varner
WSOE Sports
rvarner@elon.edu

NBA: Who should win the NBA MVP?

By Russell Varner, WSOE Sports

So the NBA hot topic at this very split second in time is who should win the MVP award this season. Last season’s MVP, Kobe Bryant? The god-child, LeBron James? Or the NBA’s new hottest player, Dwayne Wade? Well, the better question will be who SHOULD win the MVP award.

In the past, the award has usually gone to the best player on the best team. Anyone who knows me knows how big of a Kobe Bryant fan I am, but he probably shouldn’t have won the award last year. Let’s be honest, Chris Paul was much more important to the Hornets’ success than Kobe was to the Lakers’ last year. But Kobe had deserved the award in so many of the previous years that the NBA decided it was finally time for Kobe to win it.

           

So how can we possibly find a right way to pick the MVP? Simple. I say the NBA should look at the teams without the player up for the award and think about how good the team would be without him. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the MVP the player who is most valuable to his team? So, shouldn’t the award then go to the player that makes the biggest difference to his team? As in they would suck with him?

 

So let’s look at the teams in question: the Lakers, the Cavs and the Heat. Without Kobe, the Lakers would be a good team, so that takes Kobe out of the question. This leaves a LeBron-less Cavs against a D-Wade-less Heat. It’s very close, but I think that the Heat are just barely better than the Cavs when both stars are out. So, going by that, LeBron James should be this year’s MVP. The only team he could be more valuable for would be the Cleveland Browns (it’s also the only way they will make the playoffs again, but that’s another story). This Cleveland team was made for LeBron. Every move they’ve made the past few years has been because of LeBron and to make him and the team better (though one can argue that that is why any team makes a move). Without LeBron though, the Cavs would just be a bunch of 3-point shooters and big guys. No superstars, just a bunch of role players, and that would not have them in first place in the East and battling for the best record in the NBA. LeBron James should without a doubt win the MVP award. But it’s been a little while since the NBA has given the award to the right guy, so the award is still up for grabs by whoever wants it.

 

Listen to Russell Varner and the Sports Time crew every Tuesday from 4:10-6:00 p.m.

 

Contact Information:
Russell Varner
WSOE Sports
rvarner@elon.edu