Okay so every around here knows that we love Erin Andrews. However, in addition to the lovely Ms. Andrews and some of her other talented counterparts there are the duds. This clip right here is a classic, we have all seen it, but it's just too funny to pass on. And with that being said... Boom goes the dynamite.

Alright, so football has been just amazing all around both the college and the pro game have put on unbelievable performances every weekend out this season. So while I was breaking down some college film earlier this week I of course came across the debate of which is the best conference in college football today. Well, that idea got me to thinking about what is the best division in the NFL? If you have to rank the divisions how will they break down? For those who ever wondered, I have the answers right there.

1) NFC East: Best division in football. The NFC will have three representatives and the fourth team will more than likely be .500 or better.

New York Giants: The defending Super Bowl champs are not a fluke, and they have proved that to this point of the season. They have steamrolled everyone they played this season with the exception of the Cincinnati Bengals.

A· Washington Redskins: The hottest team in football, and they are now the darlings of the NFL. They should be able to maintain this pace as long as Jason Campbell remains flawless.

A· Dallas Cowboys: Their preseason star has faded with a couple of lackluster performances. Nonetheless this is still a great team that will make the playoffs.

A· Philadelphia Eagles: I have lost all faith in this team. And till Andy Reid is removed as head coach they will continue to be an underachieving 8-8 or 9-7.

2) AFC East: Since 2002 this division has been dominated by the New England Patriots. Now with Tom Brady's injury, the arrival of Brett Favre and the emergence of the Bills, this division has become a solid conference from top to bottom.

A· Buffalo Bills: The Bills suffered their first lost of the season on Sunday. However, the bigger lost was Trent Edwards suffering a concussion and missing the majority of the Sundays game and now he will be day to day going into the future.

A· New England Patriots: The New England Patriots are without Tom Brady, but they are a solid team, and probably still a playoff team. It will be interesting to see how this team reacts to a season full of adversity.

A· Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins have found life. They are playing with pride and they are playing hard because they know that Bill Parcells will fire them if they don't. I also love the Wildcat offense and I think it provides an amazing wrinkle to a game plan.

A· New York Jets: Brett Favre is here, and this team is about as up and down as anyone in the NFL. They are much improved from last year, but the Jets still have plenty of work to get done if they want to be an elite squad.

3) NFC South: The NFC South is a difficult division to read. However, at this point it has more teams playing at a high level and therefore beats out its AFC counterpart.

A· Carolina Panthers: Jake Delhomme is back and healthy and it is making a world of difference. Add in the fact that the Carolina Panthers have put together an impressive duel threat coming out of the backfield and you have a good NFC team.

A· Atlanta Falcons: This team has bounced back from everything last year and they are playing good football with Matt Ryan at the helm. They won't stay at the top of the division all season, but at this point they are a heck of a good choice.

A· New Orleans Saints: The Saints are 2-3 but they have too much talent to be as bad as they are. Stupid mistakes have cost them two games already this season. Once they eliminate those errors this team will be back in the saddle.

A· Tampa Bay Bucs: I just don't like this team. They have problems at quarterback. Brian Griese is not the answer, everyone else and their brother is in the Gruden doghouse. It looks like Chuckey's magic is failing.

4) AFC South: This division has the ability to jump up the rankings very quickly and that mainly hinges the possibility of the Indianapolis Colts getting their act together.

A· Tennessee Titian: The Titians are a very good team. Their defense is amazing. And as long as they are playing and executing at this level on both sides of the ball, then Vince Young needs to stay on the bench and out of the way.

A· Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jags are struggling to get things together, but they are on the cusp of being something special. Any team that has a defense as good as there is and a balanced running attack they need to be considered a threat.

A· Indianapolis Colts: The Colts are injured and they are getting old. Its official this is a team that goes old in front of us. They may have another run left in them, but I would not bet on it.

A· Houston Texans: This team has been a horrible disappointment. In addition they are holding this entire division back.

5) NFC North: This division is the perfect example of mediocrity. No team in the division is standout, but they are all pretty good.

A· Chicago Bears: In typical Chicago fashion, this team manages to win games and get the job done despite having a bad offense. Matt Forte has had a couple good games though.

A· Green Bay Packers: They are in the midst of a three game skid, and Aaron Rogers is trying to establish himself. I just have a sneaking feeling that his shoulder injury will end up haunting the Packers all season.

A· Minnesota Vikings: They had a great gutsy win on Monday Night Football. And the Vikings are trying to figure everything out. They will likely miss the post season, but at least they will know going into April that they need to draft a QB.

A· Detroit Lions: This team is horrible. The coach is horrible, the owners are horrible and the players are horrible.

6) AFC North: If there was ever a division that I would predict to drop on this list, I would have to say it is this one. Even the top team in this division is weak due to injuries.

A· Pittsburgh Steelers: This team is being held together by athletic tape and Big Bens heart. While that is good, I just don't think it can take you all the way.

A· Baltimore Ravens: I actually like this team. Flacco is going to be a good quarterback. The defense is still strong. They just need some experience on both lines.

A· Cleveland Brown: Well I guess Derrick Anderson remembered who he really was. And I doubt that Brady Quinn will be any better.

A· Cincinnati Bengals: Palmer is hurt, they have no running game, and Chad Johnson seems to have lost all interest in football. Nice!

7) NFC West: This division just barely edged out the AFC West. For the past five years the only thing propping this division up has been the play of the Seahawks and now that has gone down the toilet.

A· Arizona Cardinals: As long as they are at home and don't have to travel to the East Coast this is a dangerous team. Too bad that won't happen.

A· San Francisco 49'ers: They need a quarterback. Lucky for them they play in a bad division and are able to hide many of their true flaws.

A· Seattle Seahawks: The running game fell out the bottom on this team a few years ago, and now the rest of the team is following. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, Holmgren is on his way out and could care less.

A· St. Louis Rams: Well there's always next year. Maybe then they will actually take rebuilding this team seriously.

8) AFC West: This division was once one of the best in football, and now it sits at the bottom. Mainly because the two bottom feeder teams are horrible.

A· Denver Broncos: The Broncos are the biggest fraud in the NFL today. Their defense is horrible. Hopefully for them, last weeks performance is a sign of a new beginning and they can begin to turn things around.

A· San Diego Chargers: This team is different. Something is not right with them, and it starts with L.T. He is not the back that he was just a few short years ago. It seems that he has caught a cause of Sean Alexander syndrome.

A· Oakland Raiders: As long as Al Davis runs the team, this team will continue to be a bottom feeder and hold the entire division back.

A· Kansas City Chiefs: At this point I just believe that Herm Edwards is not a very good coach. Also what happened to Larry Johnson? 190 yards one week, 7 the next, how does that happen?

According to reports coming out o f Dallas Texas, Dallas Cowboys starting cornerback Adam Jones was involved in an altercation early Wednesday morning in a Dallas hotel. The reports claim that Jones was involved in an altercation with a body at the hotel and may have damaged a bathroom.





This could be a costly blow to a Dallas Cowboys secondary that may have already lost Terrence Newman with a sports hernia. Adam Jones missed all of last season while serving a suspension that was placed against him due to his off the field altercations. The Dallas Cowboys have not made any comments in regards to this issue.





It will be interesting to see how the league reacts to this issue as well. No charges were filed against Jones in this incident.

According to reports coming out of Dallas Texas, Dallas Cowboys starting cornerback Adam Jones was involved in an altercation early Wednesday morning in a Dallas hotel. The reports claim that Jones was involved in an altercation with a body at the hotel and may have damaged a bathroom.

This could be a costly blow to a Dallas Cowboys secondary that may have already lost Terrence Newman with a sports hernia. Adam Jones missed all of last season while serving a suspension that was placed against him due to his off the field altercations. The Dallas Cowboys have not made any comments in regards to this issue.

It will be interesting to see how the league reacts to this issue as well. No charges were filed against Jones in this incident.

Alright so Erin Andrews has been busy as of late doing her thing at ESPN and we have all seen plenty of here. However, here in the Washington D.C. area we have the pleasure of watching Erin Andrews and the lovely Kelli Johnson but please don't forget about the amazing Lindsay Czarniak. I'd love to see Erin move like this.

Okay, so we don't hide the fact that we are massive UVA fans here at Walker-Sports. We come from Virginia, we own season tickets, and we support the home team. Now anyone who follows college football knows there has been nothing to cheer about this season when it comes to Virginia Football. Well on Saturday night, the Virginia Cavaliers decided to give good ole Walker a great birthday present. And here is how a couple of the boys decided to celebrate with their new gift.

There is no doubt that fall is in the air here on the East Coast. The game time temperature at the UVA football game required a coat. The divisional series have wrapped in the MLB (not that I watched a single pitch), and Saturday the Red River Shootout will take center stage. This is a special time of year, but not as special as this new edition of Walker's Rants.

No New York? No Problem. The MLB playoffs seem to be continuing without a hitch without any representation from New York Citya€¦

I'm glad that Kurt Warner decided to stick it out. The injury to Bolden was by no means his fault. It was a solid pass, and it's just one of those things that happena€¦

The Dallas Cowboys need a serious revamp if they plan to make any headway this year. The defense has not gelled and their secondary will continue to cost those gamesa€¦

I wonder if the NFL's minority hiring rules and their effort to keep minorities in head coaching rolls has anything to do with Edwards and Lewis maintaining job securitya€¦

The Virginia Cavaliers won a football game! Yes I am being serious, they even threw a touchdown passa€¦

Nigel Melville wants to make rugby a professional sport in the USA, yet he cannot run a decent amateur league and secure sponsorships. I firmly believe that at this point USA Rugby has no clue about what they are doinga€¦

Why the hell would you stalk Luke Walton?

The Philadelphia Eagles need to be disbanded and rebuilt. Reid is not working as a coach; McNabb cannot win the big one. The experiment is over cash in your chips nowa€¦

The Big 12 is better than the SEC just look at the quarterbacksa€¦

Chad Johnson needs to go the way of Keyshawn Johnson, become a slot receiver on some irrelevant team and just shut upa€¦

How long till Elite XC closes its doors now that the whole Kimbo Slice rage are over?

Hockey season is herea€¦. Let's Go Caps!

Is it really time to start talking NBA basketball? Man time went by fast, seems like it was just yesterday I was listening to Kevin Garnett yell at me for no reasona€¦

Got to admit, I may not see on pitch in the AL or NL Championships, maybe not even in the World Seriesa€¦

The Virginia Cavaliers are an absolute train wreck. There is no other way to put it, and anyone who saw their 31-3 lost to Duke would be forced to agree. Virginia is last in about every statistical category in the ACC, and with games left against Maryland, ECU, Clemson, Wake, and Va Tech the Hoos are guaranteed to go bellow 500. There's a distinct chance that they will not win three games. Now with a team in such turmoil one has to ask where is the blame to be placed? And the blame has to be place on head coach Al Groh. He has done nothing with this program since the day he took over, and bellow are the top reasons that Mr. Groh should be relieved of his duties as head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers.

A·

His 1.6 million dollar annual salary. This salary places Groh within the top 15 of highest paid coaches in the NCAA. Not bad if he has the same coaching records those men on that list. However, outside of Tommy Bowden of Clemson, no one has underachieved while making more money than Al Groh. If you do this math, Groh will pull in about 470k per win this year, and that's hoping he can get to 3 wins.

A· He claims the 2008 season is a rebuilding year. Al Groh has been at UVA since the 2001 season that means he has declared three rebuilding seasons in his tenure at UVA, 2001, 2006, and 2008. Seriously, every two years is a rebuilding class? A solid program should have to rearrange parts not build the entire program from scratch every time a player graduates.

A· 32 players drafted or signed free agent contracts to the NFL. That's a lot of a talent for a team that has never finished better than losing the Gator Bowl. However, 32 NFL caliber players and yet 9-3 is the best Groh could do. That tells me it is not the players fault but the coaches who are not able to implement a solid game plan.

A· The inability to pull the top recruits within the state. Every year, Virginia Tech beats UVA in the recruiting battle. Tech manages to go out and sign the top quarterbacks and receivers in the state of Virginia. Groh settles for what is left. This is largely due to Groh's inability to motivate kids, and his poor people skills. The glum and quiet routine works for Bill Belichick because he does not have to sit in a player's living room and explain to his mama how he will take care of her son. Al Groh has to do exactly that, and his northern attitude sucks, and detours many of the traditional southern families he must visit while recruiting.

A· Disciplinary and academic problems. The UVA program has lost 10 players since the conclusion of the 2007. That includes two, yes two, starting quarterbacks. The reasons for dismissal include not being academically eligible, UVA is an elite institution and players must go to class (the kids at Vandy do it). The also include arrest on DUI and drug charges (starting QB Peter Lalich). And getting arrested at a gay bar for stealing beer (explain that one to your parents). All of these incidents are completely unacceptable and embarrassing to a very proud school with proud traditions. It is obvious that Al Groh has no control over his players.

A· His record against rival schools. For not being a powerhouse football team, UVA has plenty of rivals, four to be exact; Virginia Tech, Florida State, North Carolina and Maryland. Al Groh is a combined 10-16 against his rival schools. Included in that is a 1-5 record against FSU, 1-6 against Va. Tech, 3-3 against Maryland and 5-2 against UNC. Unacceptable.

The bottom line is Al Groh has sucked the life out of the University of Virginia football program. And as long as he is head coach, the program will continue to flounder and transform into the laughing stock of not only the ACC but of all college football. Groh must go.

The halftime show at the Super Bowl has become as important if not more important than the actual game depending on who you ask. And in recent years, the NFL has pulled out all the stops to get the biggest names to headline their biggest event. The 2009 Super Bowl will be no different. Bruce Springsteen The Boss will headline this years Super Bowl.

There may not be a more appropiate act to headline this show. The All American man headlining the ultimate American Showcase.

Alright so last weekend may have been the best weekend of the college football season to date, and that is saying a whole lot. But really it is hard to beat, six unranked teams knocking off ranked opponents in one weekend. One thing that is for sure is with this entire shake up, you can bet your last dollar that the Walker-Sports College Poll will be changing. Let's check out where you favorite team landed.











1) Oklahoma: Bob Stoops tried to keep this year's Sooners team his dirty little secret. Well the secret is out now, with them sitting atop every poll in America. The Sooners are good, very good and now the whole country will be gunning for them. Let's see if Stoops can hold his troops together and get them into a BCS Championship game.


2) LSU: The SEC is very tough, just ask Georgia and Florida. LSU snuck out a 34-24 win over Mississippi St this weekend to remain undefeated. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the SEC is just getting started they will have a very long way to go to complete this repeat journey.


3) Missouri Tigers: Sitting idle last weekend the Mizzu got to watch the train wreck all around them that was the Top 5 in the country. Now that Mizzu is in the mix of the national title scene it will be interesting to see how they handle the pressure. More importantly they are ready to start the Big 12 schedule. This will be the first time they have played actual Div I level talent all season, it could be a shock to the Tigers system.


4) Texas: The Longhorns defense is alive and well down in Austin. Last weekend the smothered Arkansas and held them to 11 yards rushing. The arrival of this stout defense may be the best thing to happen to UT. A great defense will take pressure off Colt McCoy and keep him from having to make all the big plays. Two weeks, the Red River Shootout is right around the corner. That is when we will exactly how far this Texas club has come.


5) Alabama: Nick Saban has arrived. Well I guess he never went anywhere, but the Tide is right in the hunt in the SEC and the national title scene. However, Bama is thin at every position, so the key will be staying healthy which can be very difficult in such a physical conference.


6) Penn State: It's strange watching the spread offense in Happy Valley, but it works very well. PSU was held under 50 points for the first time all season on Saturday. Too bad they still beat Illinois by 14. The next month will be a long stretch for the Lions, at Purdue, at Wisconsin home against Michigan and on the road at Ohio State. With the sudden emergence of the Wolverines, the race for the Big 10 could be very entertaining.


7) Texas Tech: I'm not even sure how this team ended up here. They have played competition that could not compete for the Texas High School State Championship more or less in the Big 12. This may be the best Red Raiders team ever. However, this bubble is about to burst, despite improvements on defense and in the running game, this is the same ole Texas Tech and the Big 12 has enough QB's to keep pace with their high scoring and high flying ways.


8) South Florida: The South Florida offense is back. The Bulls trounced NC State on Saturday 41-10 and scored on five out of its first six possessions. This could be the year that USF makes it to a BCS game. The Big East is anyone's conference for the taking. WVU doesn't want to step up and own it, so why shouldn't USF be able to.


9) BYU: After consecutive shutouts in their last two games all BYU has to do is stay focused. Which shouldn't be too hard for a team loaded with upperclassmen that all have loads of experience? BYU just has to maintain and they will be crashing a BCS game near you very soon.


10) Georgia Bulldogs: They went on the road two weeks ago, and then had to come home to the SEC buzz saw that is Alabama. The Bulldogs just did not have enough firepower to keep pace. Actually the 41-30 final is pretty impressive considering the Dog were down 31-0 at the half. The Georgia defense just let this team down.


11) Auburn: If this team had anyone who could play QB they would be dangerous. Auburn used three different players under center Saturday, and their offense was still only able to find the endzone once. Auburn is a good team, they just need to figure out how to score more than 14 points and take some of the pressure off that defense. I do love the way things are setting up for the Iron Bowl.


12) USC: What happened? That has been the question asked around the country. They only thing that has saved USC are the fact that two other top 10 teams lost over the weekend. The Trojans laid an egg on Thursday night. They let a freshmen run all over them, and Sanchez was not accurate when it was needed. The Pac 10 will get easier for them, but at this point they are a wrap for the Rose Bowl so who cares?


13) Florida: Talk about gagging up a perfect opportunity. The Gators had a chance to put their stamp on the National Title hunt, and they blew it against Ole Miss of all teams. Who would have thought? The Gators were sloppy even down to blocked extra point. The Gators are a good team, but they did not deserve to win that game Saturday.


14) Ohio State: The Buckeyes have Beanie Wells back and the offense has its spark once again. However, OSU will have their hands full this season. The Big 10 is shaping up to be an impressive conference. The Buckeyes had better be careful or they may end up in the Capital One Bowl rather than Rose Bowl.


15) Utah: Much like their cross state rival BYU, Utah needs to remain focused as they work their way through their schedule. The Utes are playing all unranked teams from here, and even the mighty Oregon State should not poise a threat to them. The end goal is a showdown with BYU and then sees if the BCS invite comes their way.


16) Kansas: The Jayhawks enjoyed an off week before they embark on a tough Big 12 schedule. Unfortunately for Kansas they fall into a similar boat as Texas Tech, while they are much improved from their past they are still far from being amongst the Big 12 elite.


17) Wisconsin: Who knew there was still life in the Big House? Without a doubt, dumb penalties can be blamed for the breakdown Wisconsin experienced. However, the Badgers will need to put Saturday's lost behind them as quickly as possible. They still have a lot of football left, and I am sure they want to avoid another trip to the Capital One Bowl.


18) Fresno State: On the road against a BCS division team (well UCLA kind of is one) and Fresno State took care of business again getting the win. It is very difficult to say where Fresno will end up when it comes to bowl games. They are a great team and by far the best in their conference, an 11-1 record could prove to be very interesting to selection comities.


19) Boise State: America's favorite upset team will open its WAC schedule on the blue turf on Wednesday night. You can be assured the Broncos are eager to regain their WAC title and shake up some BCS standings once again.


20) Vanderbilt: They will get two weeks in the Top 25 thanks to last week's bye week. Vandy is a solid team, but they are Vandy. They end goal for this team and the true measure of their success will be if they can reach a bowl game. Remember this same Vandy team went 4-0 with Jay Cutler at QB and still managed to miss out on a bowl game, so don't get too excited just yet.


21) UConn: Are the Huskies the team to beat in the Big East? I won't go that far just yet, but one thing is for sure, they do know how to win football games. They scrap and fight and find away. I also like the way their defense is able to force turnovers. While they may not be a serious contender for a BCS bit, they can definitely play spoiler to more than a few teams.


22) Oregon: The Ducks showed the world exactly how you bounce back after a gut wrenching upset at home. You go on the road and rout the first team you see. In this case that happened to be Washington State. And they were ripped 63-14. It was because of that impressive performance the Ducks get to stay in the poll.


23) Oklahoma State: OSU is in the national spotlight and this time it is not because of Mike Gundy yelling at reporters. This team has great play at the QB position, and Gundy seems to have his players fired up. I have a feeling they will play spoiler to some team in the Big 12.


24) Virginia Tech: After bouncing back from an opening weekend lost to one time thrillers ECU, the Hokies have climbed back into the Top 25 by playing and winning ugly football games and capitalizing on penalties and mistakes. Sounds like things are just they way they like them down in Blacksburg.


25) Wake Forest: Oops where did Navy come from? Perhaps Wake was still basking into the glow of their second win against Florida State. Nonetheless, lucky for Wake Forest Navy is not in the ACC (although they could knock off half the teams that are). Wake needs to regroup and just focus on making the ACC Championship; it's a very attainable goal.

Alright, so I know we rumored about this last week, and to be honest, it does not come as much of a surprise to anyone who watches the NFL, but the Oakland Raiders have fired head coach Lane Kiffen.

According to Chris Mortensen of ESPN, Raiders owner Al Davis fired Lane Kiffen over the telephone. Furthermore, Davis also informed Kiffen that his contract would not be honored. Guess, it looks like Al Davis still has plenty of fire left in the tank.


In a one-paragraph release, the team said "Lane Kiffin has been released as head coach of the Oakland Raiders for cause. "

Reports are that Davis is already interviewing potiential candidates to repalce Kiffen and he is looking in house for the replacement. One thing that is for sure, is the Oakland Raiders are still in for a world of trouble as they try to figure out what in the world is going on with their franchise.

Wow, a full year has gone by who would have believed it? Nonetheless, we are here and ready to work even on what should be a holiday. But with the week in sports we just witnessed you can best believe that Walker has plenty to say. So let's get it started with the special edition of Walker's Rants. How in the hell did the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Broncos? I guess that Denver defense really does sucka€¦ Al Davis is a pimp, firing a coach over the phone and then refusing to pay him the rest of his money. I guess Al remembered his old New York roots on that onea€¦ So far my prediction of Oklahoma winning a national title is accurate, but I wish they weren't in first place this early in the seasona€¦ The New York Mets should fire their entire front office. Consecutive years with the same results are unacceptable. Nice to see that Brett Favre still has something left in the tank. However, those throwback jerseys are horriblea€¦ Glad to see USC losea€¦ Fire Al Groh, worst move for Virginia Football since Beta and Seal died as the schools mascotsa€¦ The race for this years Heisman will be very interesting, McCoy, Teabow, Daniels, Bradford, Moreno all come to mind off the top of my heada€¦ Happy Birthday Dumont Walker, you are getting olda€¦ The Cowboys have to get back to running the ball. 11 carries on Sunday is not enough when you have Jones and Barber in your backfielda€¦. The bye week in the NFL means you may get fired. I guess Herm Edwards saved his job at least for another weeka€¦ Actually maybe it's Marvin Lewis who should be in the crosshairs. The Bengals are once again horriblea€¦ If you want to get an understanding for rugby and its culture go check out Forever Stronga€¦ How did the ACC become so awful so fast? Seriously this is just sickeninga€¦ I need a drink, way too sober on this holidaya€¦ The best part about rugby is, destroying your surgically repaired knee, biting through your lip, and getting kicked in the head, all in one day. Then going out to a Fijian Lovu and eating fresh porka€¦

Alright so last weekend may have been the best weekend of the college football season to date, and that is saying a whole lot. But really it is hard to beat, six unranked teams knocking off ranked opponents in one weekend. One thing that is for sure is with this entire shake up, you can bet your last dollar that the Walker-Sports College Poll will be changing. Let's check out where you favorite team landed.

1) Oklahoma: Bob Stoops tried to keep this year's Sooners team his dirty little secret. Well the secret is out now, with them sitting atop every poll in America. The Sooners are good, very good and now the whole country will be gunning for them. Let's see if Stoops can hold his troops together and get them into a BCS Championship game.

2) LSU: The SEC is very tough, just ask Georgia and Florida. LSU snuck out a 34-24 win over Mississippi St this weekend to remain undefeated. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the SEC is just getting started they will have a very long way to go to complete this repeat journey.

3) Missouri Tigers: Sitting idle last weekend the Mizzu got to watch the train wreck all around them that was the Top 5 in the country. Now that Mizzu is in the mix of the national title scene it will be interesting to see how they handle the pressure. More importantly they are ready to start the Big 12 schedule. This will be the first time they have played actual Div I level talent all season, it could be a shock to the Tigers system.

4) Texas: The Longhorns defense is alive and well down in Austin. Last weekend the smothered Arkansas and held them to 11 yards rushing. The arrival of this stout defense may be the best thing to happen to UT. A great defense will take pressure off Colt McCoy and keep him from having to make all the big plays. Two weeks, the Red River Shootout is right around the corner. That is when we will exactly how far this Texas club has come.

5) Alabama: Nick Saban has arrived. Well I guess he never went anywhere, but the Tide is right in the hunt in the SEC and the national title scene. However, Bama is thin at every position, so the key will be staying healthy which can be very difficult in such a physical conference.

6) Penn State: It's strange watching the spread offense in Happy Valley, but it works very well. PSU was held under 50 points for the first time all season on Saturday. Too bad they still beat Illinois by 14. The next month will be a long stretch for the Lions, at Purdue, at Wisconsin home against Michigan and on the road at Ohio State. With the sudden emergence of the Wolverines, the race for the Big 10 could be very entertaining.

7) Texas Tech: I'm not even sure how this team ended up here. They have played competition that could not compete for the Texas High School State Championship more or less in the Big 12. This may be the best Red Raiders team ever. However, this bubble is about to burst, despite improvements on defense and in the running game, this is the same ole Texas Tech and the Big 12 has enough QB's to keep pace with their high scoring and high flying ways.

8) South Florida: The South Florida offense is back. The Bulls trounced NC State on Saturday 41-10 and scored on five out of its first six possessions. This could be the year that USF makes it to a BCS game. The Big East is anyone's conference for the taking. WVU doesn't want to step up and own it, so why shouldn't USF be able to.

9) BYU: After consecutive shutouts in their last two games all BYU has to do is stay focused. Which shouldn't be too hard for a team loaded with upperclassmen that all have loads of experience? BYU just has to maintain and they will be crashing a BCS game near you very soon.

10) Georgia Bulldogs: They went on the road two weeks ago, and then had to come home to the SEC buzz saw that is Alabama. The Bulldogs just did not have enough firepower to keep pace. Actually the 41-30 final is pretty impressive considering the Dog were down 31-0 at the half. The Georgia defense just let this team down.

11) Auburn: If this team had anyone who could play QB they would be dangerous. Auburn used three different players under center Saturday, and their offense was still only able to find the endzone once. Auburn is a good team, they just need to figure out how to score more than 14 points and take some of the pressure off that defense. I do love the way things are setting up for the Iron Bowl.

12) USC: What happened? That has been the question asked around the country. They only thing that has saved USC are the fact that two other top 10 teams lost over the weekend. The Trojans laid an egg on Thursday night. They let a freshmen run all over them, and Sanchez was not accurate when it was needed. The Pac 10 will get easier for them, but at this point they are a wrap for the Rose Bowl so who cares?

13) Florida: Talk about gagging up a perfect opportunity. The Gators had a chance to put their stamp on the National Title hunt, and they blew it against Ole Miss of all teams. Who would have thought? The Gators were sloppy even down to blocked extra point. The Gators are a good team, but they did not deserve to win that game Saturday.

14) Ohio State: The Buckeyes have Beanie Wells back and the offense has its spark once again. However, OSU will have their hands full this season. The Big 10 is shaping up to be an impressive conference. The Buckeyes had better be careful or they may end up in the Capital One Bowl rather than Rose Bowl.

15) Utah: Much like their cross state rival BYU, Utah needs to remain focused as they work their way through their schedule. The Utes are playing all unranked teams from here, and even the mighty Oregon State should not poise a threat to them. The end goal is a showdown with BYU and then sees if the BCS invite comes their way.

16) Kansas: The Jayhawks enjoyed an off week before they embark on a tough Big 12 schedule. Unfortunately for Kansas they fall into a similar boat as Texas Tech, while they are much improved from their past they are still far from being amongst the Big 12 elite.

17) Wisconsin: Who knew there was still life in the Big House? Without a doubt, dumb penalties can be blamed for the breakdown Wisconsin experienced. However, the Badgers will need to put Saturday's lost behind them as quickly as possible. They still have a lot of football left, and I am sure they want to avoid another trip to the Capital One Bowl.

18) Fresno State: On the road against a BCS division team (well UCLA kind of is one) and Fresno State took care of business again getting the win. It is very difficult to say where Fresno will end up when it comes to bowl games. They are a great team and by far the best in their conference, an 11-1 record could prove to be very interesting to selection comities.

19) Boise State: America's favorite upset team will open its WAC schedule on the blue turf on Wednesday night. You can be assured the Broncos are eager to regain their WAC title and shake up some BCS standings once again.

20) Vanderbilt: They will get two weeks in the Top 25 thanks to last week's bye week. Vandy is a solid team, but they are Vandy. They end goal for this team and the true measure of their success will be if they can reach a bowl game. Remember this same Vandy team went 4-0 with Jay Cutler at QB and still managed to miss out on a bowl game, so don't get too excited just yet.

21) UConn: Are the Huskies the team to beat in the Big East? I won't go that far just yet, but one thing is for sure, they do know how to win football games. They scrap and fight and find away. I also like the way their defense is able to force turnovers. While they may not be a serious contender for a BCS bit, they can definitely play spoiler to more than a few teams.

22) Oregon: The Ducks showed the world exactly how you bounce back after a gut wrenching upset at home. You go on the road and rout the first team you see. In this case that happened to be Washington State. And they were ripped 63-14. It was because of that impressive performance the Ducks get to stay in the poll.

23) Oklahoma State: OSU is in the national spotlight and this time it is not because of Mike Gundy yelling at reporters. This team has great play at the QB position, and Gundy seems to have his players fired up. I have a feeling they will play spoiler to some team in the Big 12.

24) Virginia Tech: After bouncing back from an opening weekend lost to one time thrillers ECU, the Hokies have climbed back into the Top 25 by playing and winning ugly football games and capitalizing on penalties and mistakes. Sounds like things are just they way they like them down in Blacksburg.

25) Wake Forest: Oops where did Navy come from? Perhaps Wake was still basking into the glow of their second win against Florida State. Nonetheless, lucky for Wake Forest Navy is not in the ACC (although they could knock off half the teams that are). Wake needs to regroup and just focus on making the ACC Championship; it's a very attainable goal.

Wow, a full year has gone by who would have believed it? Nonetheless, we are here and ready to work even on what should be a holiday. But with the week in sports we just witnessed you can best believe that Walker has plenty to say. So let's get it started with the special edition of Walker's Rants.

How in the hell did the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Broncos? I guess that Denver defense really does sucka€¦

Al Davis is a pimp, firing a coach over the phone and then refusing to pay him the rest of his money. I guess Al remembered his old New York roots on that onea€¦

So far my prediction of Oklahoma winning a national title is accurate, but I wish they weren't in first place this early in the seasona€¦

The New York Mets should fire their entire front office. Consecutive years with the same results are unacceptable.

Nice to see that Brett Favre still has something left in the tank. However, those throwback jerseys are horriblea€¦

Glad to see USC losea€¦

Fire Al Groh, worst move for Virginia Football since Beta and Seal died as the schools mascotsa€¦

The race for this years Heisman will be very interesting, McCoy, Teabow, Daniels, Bradford, Moreno all come to mind off the top of my heada€¦

Happy Birthday Dumont Walker, you are getting olda€¦

The Cowboys have to get back to running the ball. 11 carries on Sunday is not enough when you have Jones and Barber in your backfielda€¦.

The bye week in the NFL means you may get fired. I guess Herm Edwards saved his job at least for another weeka€¦

Actually maybe it's Marvin Lewis who should be in the crosshairs. The Bengals are once again horriblea€¦

If you want to get an understanding for rugby and its culture go check out Forever Stronga€¦

How did the ACC become so awful so fast? Seriously this is just sickeninga€¦

I need a drink, way too sober on this holidaya€¦

The best part about rugby is, destroying your surgically repaired knee, biting through your lip, and getting kicked in the head, all in one day. Then going out to a Fijian Lovu and eating fresh porka€¦

The St. Louis Rams have fired head coach Scott Linehan, and defensive coordinator Jim Haslet will step in as the head coach for now.





The Rams have looked like the worst team in the league to this point of the season. Even the Chiefs got a win on the weekend. All the Rams managed to do was blow a 14-0 lead on Sunday and lose to the Bills 31-14. There is no question that a coaching change was needed with this team. The players were ready to revolt. QB. Marc Bulger has already voiced his opinion and let it be known that he was not interested in being coached by Linehan.





Jim Haslet has head coaching experience from his days in New Orleans. Hopefully he can bring a new spark to the Rams and get them back on track.