Well, it's finally here.  Ohio State hasn't played a game since before Thanksgiving, and now they've got a date with Texas.

Some are questioning why they even received a BCS bowl, and while that argument has subsided a little bit with Texas Tech and Boise State both losing the bowl games that they did get, there is still a large majority of football fans across the country looking at this Texas/Ohio State matchup and saying, "Here we go again".

The Nation hates Big 10 football.  They look at it as a league stuck in the past.  3 Yards and a cloud of dust isn't exciting, and lately, it isn't all that effective either.  Because of this, the Big 10, especially Ohio State, has been the recipient of brutal criticism for the last several years.  Some of that criticism is deserved, some of it isn't.  But there's only one way to make it stop:

Win.

It won't be easy.  As an Ohio State fan, I honestly don't have any problem admitting that Texas is a better team.  Ohio State has a talented Freshman in Terrelle Pryor - but he's still a Freshman.  They've played two BCS Bowl teams this year and lost to them both.  And now they face Texas, a team that some are voting as the #1 team in the country.

But none of that matters.  Lose this game and the critics will continue their onslaught of OSU and the Big 10.  But if they win?  If they beat a team they were supposed to get crushed by?  If they beat a team that 90% of the country said they couldn't?  If they beat a team from the Mighty Big 12?  If they do that, all the critics and 'I told you so'ers' will have to find something else to talk about during the offseason.  It would be a welcome change.

Go Bucks.

Saturday
Atlanta @ Arizona 4:30 - Arizona has been feasting on their crappy conference all year.  They finished 9-7, but went 6-0 in the NFC West.  That means they went 3-7 against the rest of the NFL.  Their wins came against teams with a combined record of 53-91, and they only have 2 quality wins all year : Miami and Dallas.  Atlanta finished strong and took the wild card in a very strong conference.  They finished 11-5, which is hard to believe when you remember they're doing this all with a rookie QB.  I am a little intrigued to see rookie Ryan and the veteran Warner go up against each other, but I'm thinking Atlanta takes this one pretty easily.  Atlanta 38 Arizona 17

Indianapolis @ San Diego 8:00 - Everyone (including me) is ripping on Denver for their epic collapse to close out the season, but not too much credit is being given to San Diego, who had to win 4 games in a row to win the conference.  Nobody is playing better football right now than Indy, and beating them won't be easy.  Most are thinking Indy takes this one easily, but I see this one being a very close game that could go either way.  San Diego 24 Indianapolis 21

Sunday
Baltimore @ Miami 1:00 - Two Top 10 defenses going at it.  I think Baltimore has the edge here - their defense is just crazy.  If Pennington can take care of the ball and not do anything stupid, the Dolphins might be able to squeeze out a victory.  I just don't see that happening.  The Ravens' D is too opportunistic and the Dolphins don't have enough weapons on offense to beat them.  I think this one will be close and very low scoring.  Baltimore 13 Miami 6
 
Philadelphia @ Minnesota 4:30 - Tough call.  I don't think either of these teams is all that great.  Philly just never got it going this season - hell, they TIED the Bengals.  Minnesota is a one trick pony - Adrian Peterson.  Stopping him isn't easy, but Philly has the 4th ranked rush defense in the NFL behind only Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Baltimore.  I don't know if they'll be able to shut him down, but they should be able to slow him down enough to get the victory.  Philadelphia 24 Minnesota 16

He came here with such promise.  The Reds signed a superstar!!!! But old age and injuries caught up with him from the moment he got done signing the contract that brought him to Cincinnati.  Unfortunately, he never did show the youthful exuberance of his days in Seattle.  Sure, he had his moments:  A great catch here, a big hit there....but the FIRE was gone.

And if there is one thing this city feeds off of, it's FIRE.  Show some heart, we'll love you.  At the same time, show us you don't give a damn - and we'll return it ten-fold.  I've grown tired of seeing flyballs drop where they should have been caught, and I've never been a fan of 308' singles. 

Hustle.  Act like you give a damn.

Honestly, I wish Jr well.  I hope he gets his ring.  While he didn't play well enough to get a shot at a ring with the Reds, he did play well enough to earn one when he was with the Mariners.  Neither organization was even close to being good enough to get him a shot at the World Series, so I am hopeful he can get one via a traded-at-the-deadline acquisition.

I'm almost ashamed to admit I love women's tennis.  Almost.  Right now I'm watching a match between Safina and Azarenka.  I have no idea who they are - or if they are any good.  But I'm watching the match on a 60" HDTV, they're both sweaty and wearing white.

The grunting doesn't hurt either.

Yup, women's tennis is pretty awesome.

If Joe Namath is in the HOF, Ken Anderson should be in there as well.  Anderson tops Namath in nearly every statistical category for QBs.  More TDs (197 vs 173), a better completion percentage (59.3% vs 50.1%) and a better rating (81.9 vs 65.5).  Total completions?  Yup, Anderson takes that too (2654 vs 1886).

Yes, Namath has one thing that Anderson does not.  A Super Bowl victory.  In that Super Bowl, Namath went 17/28 for 206 yards and 0 TDs.  Not bad, but not HOF worthy either.

So why is Anderson snubbed and Namath is praised as one of the best QBs of all time, even though he threw more INTs than he did TDs over the course of his career?  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the New York Media.  Namath had movie star looks, a "joe cool" personality and was very popular with the ladies.  His "gutsy" guaranteed victory - which was more than likely just a drunken blast at a reporter - is constantly mentioned as one of the greatest moments in NFL history.

But the HOF isn't supposed to be about press clippings.  It's not supposed to be about attitude or popularity.  It's about rewarding performance.  No, Ken Anderson's statistics don't measure up to some of the QBs already in The Hall, but they surpass Namath's - and considering they played in roughly the same era, that speaks volumes.