Start with a low weight to get the form down. For instance, a 25 lb plate on either side of a 45 lb bar equals only 95 lbs, which is a great place to start. Because the 25's have a relatively small radius, they don't give you the clearance you need off of the ground so lay a plate beneath each 25 to give you more height. Focus on driving up through your heels, keeping your back straight, and the bar close to your legs throughout the motion.

Here you can find an excellent beginner's weightlifting plan with 45 minute workouts and no fluff: Stronglifts 5x5.

One of the things that struck me in the Stronglifts literature is that fitness magazines need to keep coming up with things like "8 Abtastic Exercises" in order to sell copies. Kinda like personal finance mags/shows and their "6 Steps to Financial Security." That reminds me, I was at a house party and in making convo with a professional financial adviser I just met, I mentioned Austrian economics, wondering if he could help me understand the current market risks. He replied that many European economists saw the bubble blah blah blah. Incredulous, I excused myself to get a B & B refill.

I think much of what's called "White Privilege" is more accurately called "Majority Privilege" but you cannot take the "White" out of this example:

I am a Chicago Bears fan so I naturally wish nothing but ill on the Cheeseheads. But I like Aaron Rodgers' patented "championship belt" touchdown celebration just as I enjoy the confidence on display in a Randy Moss interview.

However, just as there are unspoken rules about which students, laborers, politicians, criminals, etc. can act in certain ways, there are unspoken rules about which athletes can act in certain ways. Chad Johnson is a showboat (admittedly), but Aaron Rodgers is classy, no matter what he does.

Imagine what the sports pundits would say if a black QB like Donovan McNabb had his own TD dance that he did while screaming, "This is my f***in house!" at the fans after he had rushed into the endzone. This is what Rodgers does. In fact, I can't recall any elite quarterback in the NFL having his very own touchdown celebration (Daunte Culpepper's Roll On was funny but he had 3 good seasons). Logic dictates that Aaron Rodgers' behavior is aberrant and cocky.

Why didn't Joe Buck mention Rodgers' obvious cockiness during the Super Bowl? Didn't fit the narrative. Rodgers enjoys the insulation afforded to him by White Privilege.

In the past, Joe Buck saw fit to vilify a harmless celebration by Moss as "disgusting." His outrage over Moss' fake moon was probably heightened by the setting, the hallowed Lambeau Field with its pure, noble fans. In reality, if anyone deserved to be called disgusting it was the white Green Bay fans and Randy Moss was the good-humored one, as Tony Dungy explained.

Any apology from Joe Buck? Any explanation of Packers fans' antics? Naw, doesn't fit the White Privilege story.

Unlike Joel Northup, the 16-year-old homeschooled wrestler who defaulted rather than wrestle female Cassy Herkelman, Rick Reilly gets pinned under the equality myth:

And where does it say in the Bible not to wrestle against girls? Or compete against them? What religion forbids the two-point reversal?

Remember, Northrup didn't default on sexual grounds. Didn't say anything about it being wrong to put his hands in awkward places. Both he and his father, Jamie, a minister in an independent Pentecostal faith called Believers in Grace Fellowship, cited the physical pounding of it.

Does Reilly need a diagram? How does he think the "physical pounding" occurs, via Harry Potter magic spells? Or could takedowns come from grappling, grabbing, pushing, pulling, etc.?

"We believe in the elevation and respect of woman," the father told the Des Moines Register, "and we don't think that wrestling a woman is the right thing to do. Body slamming and takedowns -- full contact sport is not how to do that."

That's where the Northrups are so wrong. Body slams and takedowns and gouges in the eye and elbows in the ribs are exactly how to respect Cassy Herkelman. This is what she lives for. She can elevate herself, thanks.

Sometimes the best way to respect someone is to deny him the chance to be stupid. Joel gave Cassy that chance; but Rick wasn't so fortunate.

This is a far better analysis:

It seems to me that Joel Northrup was raised to be a gentleman, and when he drew his first opponent at the state tournament, this ideal ran hard into the leveling impulse of the age. Or to put it in old-fashioned terms, gentlemen don't wrestle with ladies. Reversing the sentence provides another truism: ladies wouldn't dream of wrestling with gentlemen or of wrestling with anyone for that matter. Now I am on thin ice here, for if I embrace the idea of a gentleman, I am simultaneously embracing the idea of a lady. Doing so must appear, through the caustic lens of liberation, to be suggesting that ladies and gentlemen are substantially different and that a gentleman treats other gentleman in ways markedly different from the way he treats ladies. Precisely.

Is Brad Childress crazy? Or is he to be lauded for essentially admitted he made a huge mistake by trading away a 3rd round pick for Moss?

Moss is talented, stubborn, peerless, anti-authoritarian, intelligent, petulant, etc. Somehow the Patriots were able to channel his strengths and deal with his weaknesses. Why did the Vikings fail? Could they have done better, or was it doomed from the start?

Professional sports teams are unique sociological environments, but there have to be some organizational parallels to draw here. How do you manage a man like Moss?

Guest blog: Trevor Claiborne, NY-based sports analyst

Before I begin this pessimistic article I'd like to say that Favre is a legendary quarterback and I have so much respect for him. However being a legend and having people's respect doesn't win championships. Last year Favre and the Vikings were sent home by the Saints one game before the Super Bowl. They were a solid team. AP, Sidney Rice, Percy Harvin, Vishante Shainco, A sturdy line, and of course Brett Favre were all part of the superstar offense. Throw in a great coaching staff and an equally as star studded defense and you have a playoff worthy team.

I hate to make this prediction but, the Vikings are going to grind their way to a playoff position then get knocked out before the Super Bowl. I love underdog stories but, I'm going to have to be realistic. Sidney Rice is out for several weeks, Harvin has migranes that have been acting up, and Favre reluctantly came back this year with an ankle injury. In my opinion when you have to send a caravan down to Mississippi to convince your 41 year old quarterback to play one more season his heart isn't really there. No matter how amazing Favre is he can't when the Super Bowl if his heart isn't fully invested in the Vikings. --Trevor Claiborne

If I owned an NFL team and saw my future QB that happy to pose with Kid Rock, I would have cut him immediately.

Compare and contrast:

"Kurt was a man," another player said. "He'd get the crap knocked out him and never say [anything]. He was playing with half his body banged up, needing surgery, and he'd give you that Kurt, positive-attitude stuff. He was the real deal ... Matt? Whatever. He gets a hangnail and he's whining."

Guatemala's junior baseball team defeated Puerto Rico (yes, Puerto Rico) yesterday and made it to this year's Little League World Series to be played this month in Michigan. There is baseball south of the border my friends.

*Apologizes to Emmitt Smith

Bill Simmons (today in tribute to Stephen A. Smith who predicted LeBron-to-Miami, Simmons is writing under "William J. Simmons":

It's one thing to leave. I get it. You're 25. You don't know any better. You're tired of carrying mediocre teams. You want help. You want the luxury of not having to play a remarkable game every single night for eight straight months. You want to live in South Beach. You want to play with your buddies. I get it. I get it. But turning that decision into a one-hour special, pretending that it hadn't been decided weeks ago, using a charity as your cover-up and ramming a pitchfork in Cleveland's back like you were at the end of a Friday the 13th movie and Cleveland was Jason ... there just had to be a better way.

Simmons gets it. It's like watching an ugly divorce. LeBron made it ugly.

Also, if we're talking business decisions, you probably made a bad move if afterward your fans react to your jersey the way Muslim terrorists react to the US flag.

The Last Emperor's first conclusive loss. Maybe now he'll finally fight in the UFC.

His kryptonite was Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (loss via triangle/armbar by Fabricio Werdum).

Para ti, Juan.

Yesterday, the Chicago Tribune newspaper included an insert with the photo above. The player depicted with a female figure skater's skirt and legs is Chris Pronger, the most annoying NHL player alive. The Trib was basking in Pronger's horrible game 5 that helped the Chicago Blackhawks win and put them on the verge of the Stanley Cup.

Not everyone was laughing:

"I'd like to see that editor out on skates. I'll take them one-on-one on the ice any day," three-time Olympic medalist Angela Ruggiero told The Associated Press. "They obviously have never seen women's hockey and are living in the dark ages."

Ruggiero found out about the poster via Twitter and expressed disappointment and anger that such demeaning portrayals of women and hockey are still being made.

Really? Is this an insult to Pronger or women?

Although this photo captures it well, Vincent Thomas traces the history:

The Celtics were the most hated NBA team of my youth, by far. Didn't matter if you lived in New York, Chicago, Philly, D.C., Detroit, Milwaukee, Atlanta or wherever. If you lived east of the Mississippi River, you loathed the Boston Celtics. And chances are you probably dug the Showtime Lakers, because they weren't beating your squad three or four times every season or ending its season for good in the playoffs, unlike the Celtics. Hate for the Celtics was about jealousy and the fatigue of losing.

But you know what? Both the Celtics' and Lakers' reps seem to have changed for folks in my generation -- even us east of the Mississippi. The Lakers have become the most hated team in basketball, especially for real hoops fans. The Lakers remain the overwhelming favorite for casual fans, because they're a glamorous team in a glamorous city led by a glamorous star. On the other hand, no current team is the object of as much bile and venom -- again, especially from real fans who actually care about the NBA -- as L.A. How did we get here?

I recently met a guy who was a fan of the Lakers, the Yankees, and Duke basketball. Throw in the Cowboys and Ohio State football and that is the worst combination possible. Go Celtics.

Representing the "Any Semblance of Enforcement is Racist" camp, our bold Attorney General, Eric Holder, who didn't even need to read the bill to know the deal:

Representing the "I Seriously Have No Idea What I'm Talking About" contingent, a protester outside of Game 1 of the Conference Finals in LA:

"Phil Jackson went political and that's not his job," said Jose Maldonado from Montclair. "His job is not governor, his job is not president, his job is not political, his job is to be a coach. When he said what he did he went political and that's the reason I'm standing here, to protest his involvement."

Jackson, however, made it clear he didn't want to get involved in politics and initially said he didn't think teams should get involved in politics as the Suns did on May 5 when they wore jerseys that read "Los Suns" in Game 2 of their playoff series with the San Antonio Spurs. Suns players and owner Robert Sarver have spoken out against the bill.

"I don't think teams should get involved in the political stuff," Jackson said. "And I think this one's still kind of coming out to balance as to how it's going to be favorably looked upon by our public. If I heard it right the American people are really for stronger immigration laws, if I'm not mistaken."

At least the sports reporter pointed out Maldonado's ignorance. We could use more uninformed people taking Phil's measured approach. Here's how he got pulled into the debate:

In a pregame news conference on May 4, Jackson said, "Am I crazy, or am I the only one that heard when the legislators said that we just took United States immigration law and adapted it to our state?"

Jackson was responding to a question by ESPN.com columnist J.A. Adande about his thoughts on Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver having his team wear its "Los Suns" jerseys for their May 5 game.

Jackson then asked Adande if his interpretation of the law was correct. Adande said Arizona "usurped the federal law."

Jackson disagreed, saying "it's not usurping, they just copied it, is what they said they did, the legislators. Then they give it some teeth to be able to enforce it."

Image via Wikipedia

The commissioner said Monday that the 12-member SEC hasn't talked to any institutions about joining and has no plans to do so. The expansion exploration is just an internal look at the potential advantages and disadvantages in case there is a "significant shift in the conference paradigm," he said.

If the SEC expands, other than Clemson (haha) who should be added? Or should they expand at all?

...has arrived. The NCAA Tourney is a nice holdover, but now we have the main prize:

The NBA Playoffs, starting tomorrow. Remember this:

The greatest running back in the history of football died ten years ago. Men want to live like Walter played.

Sir Charles encourages us to get a life:

"First of all, I'm not a damn loser. I don't twitter. I think twittering and all that facebook crap just makes you a loser. I've never said to myself 'I wonder what what's his name is doing today.' Shaquille O'Neal is one of my favorite people, I love him like a brother, but I've never said to myself 'let me twitter Shaquille O'Neal. I wonder what he's doing today."

Do Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan twitter?

"I hope not. I hope they've got a life. Anybody who sits around and worries about what somebody else is doing and you're following somebody else around, clearly makes you just a loser in my mind. I think the facebook stuff is stupid. People who sit around and worry about what some celebrity is doing, that's just ignorant to me. I truly believe that. I'm not trying to be funny or anything. Somebody has no life when they're sitting there worrying about what somebody has to say. Like 'oh yeah I'm at this place eating or I'm at this place today,' that just makes you a loser."

The Admiral:

Air Jordan:

What struck you? Would you rather be the greatest basketball player or a great man? What does each man pass on?

I have been a college football fan for...well...at least since high school, so 15 good years.

Today, flipping through the box scores to see what the final results were from yesterday, I saw:

ND 35
NEV 0

And I thought:
"Huh...didn't know North Dakota played football."

Prince, shown above as a kid proud of his dad, took the crown Monday night and kept adding to his fame, but how long will he and his father, former MLB All Star Cecil Fielder, be unreconciled?

Cecil's financial woes came to light in 2004, during his divorce proceedings with Stacey. Each blamed the other for the family's financial ruin: Stacey pointed to Cecil's gambling; he cited her extravagant spending. Prince took Stacey's side, engaging in shouting matches with Cecil in the courtroom and over the phone. "Prince felt like he needed to protect his mother and become the man of the house, so we had some heated conversations," says Cecil. "Some bad things were said." Prince also accused his father of taking $200,000 of his signing bonus without permission. "My father is dead to me," he told The Detroit News in 2004.

Man, divorce crushes kids, especially when when it forces them to act like adults too soon. In 2007, after becoming the youngest player to ever hit 50 bombs in a season, instead of celebrating Prince was talking about getting to 52. Why?

"My dad had 51," Fielder said. "Then, he can't say anything."

Heart-rending. It sounds like Prince channeled his anger into performance on the field in the past, but that is an unsustainable way of life. Without forgiving his dad, Prince will eventually either break down and/or slowly poison his own relationship with his kids. This is the stuff Jesus died for, but is would dudes like Prince find God's grace in your church?

This is stuck in my head. Note that Auto-Tune is not dead, it actually is used well. (Do I need to give a language warning?)

From ESPN: Syracuse forces OT, takes lacrosse title.The Syracuse Orange became the first men's lacrosse team to win two consecutive national titles since Princeton won three in a row from 1996-98.

If you're white and you have a son you'd better get him into lacrosse ASAP if you want him to have a shot at an athletic scholarship for college. Otherwise, plan to pay full price for college, plan for loans, or get him a tutor yesterday.

I was in a Southwestern state for the Holiday weekend and my friend told he was going to get his son into Lacrosse because it's the only team sport left where a white kid has a shot at advancing. He noted that the sport has exploded among middle-class white people; and that during the Syracuse national championship game he only saw one black kid on the field.

Team Sports
*Football: African-Americans basically own it, except for the quarterback position.
*Baseball: Latinos, thankfully are excelling. I've never met a black kid who wanted to play professional baseball. I was down recently at a University of Miami baseball game and didn't see many white kids on the team at all.
*Basketball: black guys and European white dudes
*Hockey: ok, you guys have that one for now
*Soccer: Latinos, Africans, and European white guys. If you think your suburban American son is going to get a soccer scholarship to college, you're nuts.

Yeah, so my white friends, get the boy a lacrosse stick because all other sports will purely be recreational which means you are free to stop wasting so much money on equipment and stupid camps, he's not going to have a shot after high school anyway. Sports should be for fun, recreation, health maintenance, experiencing challenge, etc. not paying for college.

Steroid Questions for Nitro, American Gladiator
Dan Clark--Nitro from the original American Gladiators--talks about steroid cycles, 'roid rage, and recovery
By: Greg Presto, Men's Health Magazine

When he wasn't bashing the brains of weekend warriors with a giant Q-tip or laying vicious hits on spandex-wearing guys in Powerball, Dan Clark--"Nitro" of the original American Gladiators--was slamming needles into his glutes. The former San Jose State linebacker and reality TV megastar abused steroids for more than 2 decades to build his formidable frame.

Clark details his steroid use, rise to fame, terrifying bouts of 'roid rage, and his life after the drugs--including relapses and daily pains--in his frank new book, Gladiator. MensHealth.com got an early look at the manuscript, and the chance to ask Nitro some questions about steroids, their lasting effects, and his workouts today.

MH: When we hear about high-level professional athletes using steroids, they cycle on and off the drugs to avoid detection and protect their natural testosterone production from permanent damage. You don't mention cycling off in Gladiator--did you avoid this to keep things interesting? Or did you really not cycle off?

Dan Clark/Nitro: I took my first steroid in 1981. It was such a different culture than today. I went to a steroid doctor and got a prescription for the stuff. He told me, 'Look, you don't need to go off.' You stayed on your cycle--I would stay on a cycle for a year. You'd change your drugs to change the stimulus.

Inevitably, as your body stops producing testosterone, you have to take more drugs. It's an insidious cycle that doesn't stop. And when you do go off, no matter how much HCG you take--no matter what you take--you're still at a deficiency. Stuff doesn't work right anymore. The longer you're on, the more you've destroyed your endocrine system.

It's similar to other drugs: Eventually, users can't get dopamine unless they use the drugs, because their body stops producing it.

I knew those dudes had to be on something. Clark used roids for nearly 20-years. Ouch.

From ESPN:

Coach Roy Williams' team returned home Tuesday to celebrate the proud program's fifth national title and first since 2005 with about 13,000 revved-up fans less than 24 hours after beating Michigan State 89-72 in Detroit.

Congrats UNC!

Congrats ACC!!!

This weekend is the next round of the CONCACAF World Cup 2010 Qualifiers. Pick your winners!

1. Mexico vs Costa Rica
2. Trinidad & Tobago vs Honduras
3. El Salvador vs USA

Current Standings (after 1 game):
1. Costa Rica
2. USA
3. El Salvador
4. Trinidad & Tobago
5. Honduras
6. Mexico

Has anyone been following this? Pretty good teams and great games. These are the semifinals to be played this weekend:

USA vs. Japan
South Korea vs. Venezuela

Watch Live/

Don't like your local game watch all games live on CBS website. I walked out into my living room and my roommate had three games going at once two on the computer and one on TV. I have been a subscriber of MLB.TV and love it as I can watch the Phillies play every game. Great to see sports going this way.

Louisville, Kansas, UConn, Memphis

Florida State, Duke, UNC, Temple (that's right, Temple).

And Clemson does make it to the Sweet 16!

On Wednesday, Real Madrid and Liverpool faced off in the first game of their qualifying round to quarterfinals for the UEFA Champions League.

Real Madrid lost their winning streak (after having had a spectacular 7 wins in a row in the Spanish Liga) after losing 1-0 against Liverpool. The road to the finals of the world's most prestigious and most watched soccer tournament looks tough for us who follow Real Madrid. We'll see what happens at Anfield for the second game of this exciting series.

Has a Christian high school athlete ever come at his recruiters like this?

"I basically told them, 'This is me,'" said Te'o, from Laie, Hawaii. "I'm LDS. I'm thinking of serving a mission, and I want that to be available to me. If that's not in the cards for your university, I have to respect that, but I have to consider others."

From CNN:

While CTE in an ex-NFL player's brain may have been expected, the beginnings of brain damage in an 18-year-old brain was a "shocking" finding, according to Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts, and co-director of the CSTE.

Maybe I'll steer my son towards basketball...

From ESPN:

Clemson removed the interim designation from coach Dabo Swinney in a meeting on Sunday and could announce it as soon as Monday afternoon in a news conference, multiple souces told ESPN on Sunday.

Athletic director Terry Don Phillips offered the job to Swinney in a meeting on campus Sunday afternoon. After Swinney accepted, contract discussions began and are expected to continue Monday morning.

So typical. The verdict is still out on this one. Tennessee got a GREAT new coach in Lane Kiffin. I wish Clemson would stop bargain shopping and recognize that the market tells the story: good coaches cost money. Dabo must have been real cheap 'cause he's just glad he's got a shot I'm sure.

Maybe the problem the past few years has been with the athletic directors and not the coaching choices.

After Georgia and Missouri's flat and disappointing season finales, I decided that the best thing for a team preseason is NOT to be ranked in the Top 10.

Both Missouri and Georgia demonstrated how clearly overrated they both were. Losing to Kansas and Georgia Tech. What about all the Heisman hype with Chase Daniels? No worries Missouri fans, when Daniels leaves you will return to your seat at your conference's mediocre bench.

The ACC was a very weak conference this year and Georgia couldn't handle a team that's not even good enough to go the ACC championship (although Tech's improvement has made them really strong in the stretch).

Read about the Tech win here.

Penn State lost to Iowa 24-23. Awesome. As long as Penn State does not end up in the National Championship game, with their weak schedule, I'll be a happy dude. I think Michigan State has a real chance to beat them as well.

This week's AP poll:

1. Alabama (44) 10-0 1,604
2. Texas Tech (21) 10-0 1,574
3. Florida 8-1 1,467
4. Texas 9-1 1,437
5. Oklahoma 9-1 1,375

I'd be more than happy with a Bama/Texas Tech championship game. Thoughts on the BCS mess? What happens if the top 5 are all one loss teams?

By Gregg Easterbrook @ ESPN.com

Eli Manning has always been the kid brother. Peyton was a highly lauded No. 1 overall NFL draft choice when Eli was still in high school. When Eli in turn became a No. 1 overall draft choice, there was whispering about how he was only riding his older brother's coattails. Few football scouts -- including scouts for the San Diego Chargers, who drafted and then promptly traded away Eli -- thought he would match his brother's achievements.

Eli has been booed in New York (which, for NFL purposes, is located in New Jersey); Peyton has never been booed in Indianapolis. New York sports radio hosts and callers once shrieked that the Chargers picked the Giants' pockets in that trade. In their joint commercials, Eli has always appeared deferential and inconsequential compared to Peyton. Two years ago at the Super Bowl in Miami, where Peyton's Colts would line up, TMQ saw Eli at a party. He looked miserable -- not just out of sorts, but miserable. Big brother was outshining him, as usual.

Well, ponder this: Eli Manning is now a better quarterback than Peyton Manning. At the current rate, his career achievements will at least match, and perhaps surpass, his big brother's.

Ahh, don't ya just hate it when your little brother's showing you up like that? Frustrating!

From ESPN:

NEW YORK -- The handwritten letters and the e-mails, the care packages and -- get this -- the instructional DVDs began reaching Roger Federer early in the season, after a bout of mononucleosis precipitated the end of his streak of 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals.

The volume increased after Federer lost the French Open and Wimbledon finals. From all around the world they arrived, some to his parents' house in Switzerland, some to his agent, some to his hotels. They came from retired players and from current coaches, from doctors, from fans. They offered good wishes, medical advice, even tennis advice.

Everyone figured Federer needed help, and everyone figured they knew how to help.

Turns out Federer was just fine. Turns out he still knew how to win a major tournament. He proved that Monday night, easily beating Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 to win a fifth consecutive U.S. Open championship and 13th Grand Slam title overall.

There was so much smack talk about Federer being all washed up and how Nadal had replaced him as the new world's greatest. One question Nadal worshipers: where was Nadal during the men's final of the U.S. Open?

From ESPN:

MIAMI -- Here's a scenario nobody expected 20 minutes or so into the first Sunday of the 2008 NFL season:

The New York Jets, with a quarterback who turns 39 next month and was handed the team's thigh-pad-thick playbook about five minutes ago, might now be the favorites to win the AFC East. And all because grey-haired Brett Favre jogged off the Dolphin Stadium field in one piece, while 1,459 miles away in Foxboro, Mass., Tom Brady limped off the Gillette Stadium turf with an injured left knee. Brady's next date won't be with Gisele, but presumably with the working end of a surgeon's scalpel.

Whew, I really do hope Brady's knee heels up. What a crazy start to the season.

Oh yeah, and the Bears looked great last night? What's up Peyton?

Murray send Nadal home after a great match. For some reason I don't like Nadal. Don't know why. But I've been a Federer since I saw him live at the Open back in 2001.

Anyone noticed that Men's tennis doesn't seem to have Americans competing well anymore. Roddick's just average now. Blake can't get over the "winning the big one hump." What's up?

The story from ESPN:

NEW YORK -- Andy Murray has taken to playfully flexing his biceps on court to make the point that he's added bulk to his formerly scrawny frame. Sunday, he muscled his way into an elite fraternity.

The big three of men's tennis -- Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic -- officially expanded to become the big four as a young Scot long heralded as a future Grand Slam winner put himself in position to win his first. Murray outplayed world No. 1 Nadal in their rain-interrupted U.S. Open semifinal, winning 6-2, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 to earn the right to face four-time defending champion Federer.

Welcome to the club. To paraphrase a certain credit card company, membership has its privileges -- and pressures.

Federer dearly wants to win this tournament, silence the doubters and verify that he's back on track and capable of fighting to regain the No. 1 ranking. A title here would put him one short of Pete Sampras' record of 14 Slams going into next season.

On the other side of the court, the 21-year-old, sixth-seeded Murray will carry the fervent hopes and longing of a nation that hasn't had a men's Slam champion since Fred Perry in 1936.

"Yes, it was a terrible call Husky nation"
September 6, 2008 8:15 PM
Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

It was one of the worst judgment calls you will ever see -- no your eyes and instincts and sense of fairness didn't deceive you.

When Washington quarterback Jake Locker ran for a 3-yard touchdown to put the Huskies within a converted PAT of tying their game with BYU, he threw the ball behind his neck so he could hug his teammates in order to properly enjoy a thrilling moment as the fans went bonkers.

He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for his celebration, a point of emphasis for officials this season.

He certainly didn't break the spirit of the rule.

The Huskies should have converted the resulting 35-yard PAT after 15 yards were walked off. It's a routine field goal distance.

But they didn't.

So they lost.

What a stupid rule and senseless call. Ridiculous.

If you're a South Carolina gamecock fan would you please spend the rest of the season keeping your beak shut about the Clemson loss to Bama until you can justify why you guys are paying Steve Spurrier all that money and you loss to Vanderbilt? Vanderbilt? The Gamecocks were outsmarted by the Commodores last night 24-17. Shhh. No worries, Clemson probably wouldn't have beat them either.

Could it get any worse Coach Bowden? The laughing stock of the nation? Some people feel like this cover should be plastered on the U-haul truck that should be parked in front of Coach Bowden's house. Pathetic. Don't you miss hanging out with your brothers? What's Terry doing these days?

I hope this pathetic photo is in Clemson's locker room. This is not the way to be on the cover of SI ladies. Kidding aside, it is a great shot.

This is the headline that many Clemson University football fans would love to see after Clemson's manhandling by Alabama. For many, it is hopeful that Clemson will loose all of the remaining games so that Bowden would be forced to leave. Hey Citadel, just do what Alabama did, you'll be fine.

Some are saying that, like Alabama, Clemson should not hire Christian coaches and no longer care that over 2/3 of the team regularly attend Bible studies, church, etc. No more coaches that care about character, blah, blah. Some want a coach like Saban who is an idol worshipper and is willing to recruit idol worshippers bent winning and financial greed and playing in the NFL; and a coach that has a clear conscience about lying ('I'm not leaving the Miami Dolphins'). These kinds of coaches win games and that's what many Clemson fans want these days. We don't care how, just win.

The ACC's pathetic performance during college football's kick-off weekend reveals that the conference is the midst of a rebuilding transition but at least there's the SEC, the most difficult and exciting football conference to follow in the nation. The Alabama/LSU game will be awesome--especially after what Saban did to them (such a classy guy). It will be one of at least 4 of Alabama's losses this season.

From ESPN:

BEIJING -- Halfway through what might have been the greatest comeback swim in Olympic history, Jason Lezak peered through his goggles at the lane to his right and briefly abandoned hope.

"The thought really entered my mind for a split second," Lezak said. "There's no way."

Could you blame him? That thought already had been screaming through the minds of everyone in the National Aquatics Center plus several million Americans watching at home. It almost certainly was on the mind of one Michael Phelps, the leadoff swimmer in this 400-meter freestyle relay who had so much riding on Lezak's straining shoulders.

No way.

The rest of the ESPN story is here.

The French team said that they were going to "smash" the Americans. It was an absolutely amazing win. I didn't see "the Americans" get anything but "a gold." I watched the race at Momos.

This, again, is why Americans don't like many French people? Why would you say at the Olympics? The French. Whatever. "Les relayeurs francais perdent d'un rien le duel des gros bras" from Le Monde.

Yeah, yeah Phelps but who's the black guy? Cullen Jones. I hadn't heard of him but I just sat there in awe of the fact that a black dude was there. I was so glad they won the gold then. And I do hope Phelps wins all his events. That would be really cool.

ESPN has footage of an interview with Cullen Jones after the race. It's awesome. His parents used to drive an hour one-way to get him practice and then wait for him in the car and drive him back. Sounds like the black parents in my neighborhood growing up.

Wow, Cullen Jones. I bet he's got some stories of being black in a white-dominated sector. Sometimes I think about trying to get a meeting together for "the only blacks." (That is, if you're the only black person in your context). Or maybe a support group or something. It was one of the segments I appreciated the most about the CNN special on being black in America describing the unbelievable added pressure that brings when you're at work everyday. At any rate, I hope Cullen's story will inspire others and is not viewed as a mere anomaly.

The coaches poll is out.

It's college football time again friends. For the record, this blog will be dominated with SEC and ACC college football talk for the rest of the month as we prepare to watch the most exciting football (ACC and SEC) in the nation. If you are fans of college football outside of those conferences, please visit other sites to those other good conferences and teams.

Now, back to the story. Georgia's cursed. When the AP poll comes out Friday I hope they have a different number one. Pre-season number 4 or 5 is probably the best spot.

And Clemson fans, you know who are coach is, don't get too excited. We'll see what happens in game one against the elephants.

1. Georgia (22) 0-0 1,438
2. USC (14) 0-0 1,430
3. Ohio State (14) 0-0 1,392
4. Oklahoma (3) 0-0 1,329
5. Florida (5) 0-0 1,293
6. LSU (3) 0-0 1,163
7. Missouri 0-0 1,143
8. West Virginia 0-0 1,008
9. Clemson 0-0 999
10. Texas 0-0 979
11. Auburn 0-0 888
12. Wisconsin 0-0 747
13. Kansas 0-0 714
14. Texas Tech 0-0 644
15. Virginia Tech 0-0 568
16. Arizona State 0-0 560
17. Brigham Young 0-0 547
18. Tennessee 0-0 506
19. Illinois 0-0 422
20. Oregon 0-0 399
21. South Florida 0-0 350
22. Penn State 0-0 313
23. Wake Forest 0-0 203
24. Michigan 0-0 112
25. Fresno State 0-0 91
Others Receiving Votes
Alabama 83, South Carolina 64, Utah 60, Rutgers 53, Florida State 53, Boston College 47, California 41, Pittsburgh 34, Boise State 25, Oregon State 23, Nebraska 17, Cincinnati 13, Virginia 12, Connecticut 9, Michigan State 9, Mississippi State 6, Kentucky 5, Notre Dame 5, TCU 5, Maryland 4, Texas A&M 3, UCLA 3, North Carolina 3, Louisville 2, Georgia Tech 2, UCF 2, Tulsa 1, Oklahoma State 1, Arizona 1, Colorado 1.

Any other ACC or SEC talk?

From CNN:

Story Highlights
# Friend: "His father called and said he was with Christ and he cried"
# Redskins safety was shot early Monday in upper leg, damaging an artery
# Friend says he was told Taylor never regained consciousness
# Taylor played at University of Miami, where he was 2003 All-American

Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor has died, a day after he was shot in the leg, said family friend Richard Sharpstein. He said Taylor's father called him around 5:30 a.m. to tell him the news. "It's a tremendously sad and unnecessary event," said Sharpstein. "He was a wonderful, humble, talented young man, and had a huge life in front of him. Obviously God had other plans."

Fellas, lots of questions here. What happened? Allegedly he was fighting off the assailant with a machete. Taylor did have some gun-related misdemeanors, several NFL fines for various reasons, and so on. Who knows what's going to come out on this case. Sad, fellas. Just sad.

(Oklahoma looses to Colorado?)

Fellas, what happened this weekend?

From ESPN:

If Oct. 6 already has been billed as Blockbuster Saturday, perhaps Sept. 29 should go down in history as Spoiler Saturday. Oh, what could have been.

If not for a stunning seven of the top 13 teams in the AP poll suffering a loss this weekend -- five of them to unranked teams -- we would have been preparing ourselves for four undefeated-versus-undefeated showdowns this coming Saturday: Florida-LSU, Oklahoma-Texas, Cincinnati-Rutgers and Ohio State-Purdue.

Here's this week top ten (AP)

1. LSU (33) 5-0 1,593
2. USC (32) 4-0 1,591
3. California 5-0 1,475
4. Ohio State 5-0 1,420
5. Wisconsin 5-0 1,271
6. South Florida 4-0 1,203
7. Boston College 5-0 1,172
8. Kentucky 5-0 1,143
9. Florida 4-1 1,031
10. Oklahoma 4-1 992

LSU, FINALLY is getting the props they deserve as USC wins games in a soft and mediocre conference (nothing like the SEC, the toughest conference in America).

And to top it all off Clemson loss to one of their "thorns in the flesh": Ga Tech. Sigh.

Fellas, what happened?