I’ve talked a lot about the NFL, but the college football season starts around the same time (sometimes earlier). I don’t want to forget about that. My favorite team is and always has been Notre Dame. Maybe that is a bit cliché to say these days, the Fighting Irish are like the Dallas Cowboys of college football. The Cowboys have long been called “America’s Team,” and I believe that Notre Dame is most likely “America’s (college) Team”. What other school has all of their games shown nationally on NBC? Nobody, that’s who. Now if they could only get a little bit better we’d be in business. I can’t handle another home loss to Syracuse.
Rivals.com has them ranked #24 entering the season. They are usually pretty smart when it comes to rankings, so I tend to trust them. I’m glad the Irish aren’t ranked higher, because that always equals disappointment. The only “Ranked” teams they play are #3 USC and #24 Michigan State, and both are at home. But they do play a handful of teams who played in bowl games last year (who didn’t play in a bowl game? There’s thirty-two of them!) including Nevada, Connecticut, Boston College, and Pitt.
I think the real reason they are ranked #24 is the fact that Jimmy Clausen is starting to get comfortable with the offensive scheme (it’s a pro style offense), and he has two of the best receivers in college football in Michael Floyd and the aptly named Golden Tate. They have a young but strong defense led by a stingy secondary, and if they can manage any type of running game they have bowl team written all over them.
What team(s) do you like in college? Who do you follow and who do you think is going to win it all? Throw me a comment or send me an email.
In a few weeks I’m going to have my Division I Bowl Championship Division Power Rankings. So stay tuned for that. It’ll be a blasty blast.
MLB: Mark Buehrle pitched the 18th perfect game in Major League Baseball history on Thursday afternoon. He already had a no-hitter in his career, but never a perfect game. Few players have reached this pinnacle of perfection, the last being Randy Johnson back in May of 2004. Twenty-seven up and twenty-seven down is not an easy task. Buehrle almost lost his perfect game in the ninth inning when Gabe Kapler took him deep; luckily DeWayne Wise gobbled it up over the wall, taking away a home run.
NFL: The TO show aired its first episode this past Monday. That’s TO as in Terrell Owens. Apparently, everyone has their own reality show these days. I’ve been waiting for mine for a long time. It’s only a matter of time before everyone has their own “Reality” show. Owens seems much more laid back and down-to-earth than he comes across during his press conferences. Maybe this is the real TO, or maybe this is just a marketing ploy to get people to like him again. Either way, I’m DVRing every episode.
MLS: The David Beckham saga continues. Becks was fined $1,000 (Big whoop, he makes $25 mil. per season) after an incident at the end of a match between the Galaxy and Beckham’s former team, AC Milan. The incident didn’t involve the other team. It didn’t even involve the other team’s fans. Beckham tried to coax one of his own fans onto the field to fight him. The fan jumped down and was promptly tackled by burly security guards. Apparently Beckham can’t handle a few boos. And we though A-Rod was a wuss.
Tour De France: Through nineteen stages (how many stages are in this thing anyway?) Alberto Contador of Spain, Lance Armstrong’s team mate at Astana, is leading by 4:11 over Andy Schleck of Luxembourg. Armstrong, most likely out of steam, is third, 5:21 behind the leader. Sorry Lance, it might be time to hang up the ‘ol spandex.
Golf: Poor Tom Watson. Pretty much every golf fan in the world was pulling for him to take home The (British) Open Championship at Turnberry, but it wasn’t to be. He sputtered and showed his age towards the end of the last day and ended up having a playoff with Stewart Cink. Sadly, Watson lost. A Disney ending it was not. The $700,000 check should make him feel a little better about the defeat. 
*Do you have like any sports that you want me to cover next week or any sports stories you want me to mention? This is your article, not mine. Have at it. Throw me an email cosburn@thefatherlife.com.
Image credit: Kriss Szkurlatowski, SXC
30 year old freelance writer and The Father Life‘s resident beer columnist and sports editor. He also writes about fine beverages for drinkingmadeeasy.com and Chilled Magazine. On top of that, he writes about college and professional lacrosse for insidelacrosse.com. He’s also written for Genesee Valley Parenting Magazine, the Democrat and Chronicle Newspaper and ESPN.com. “Osburn on Tap” appears monthly in THE FATHER LIFE. For questions, comments, or if you have a story idea for Chris, throw him an email cosburn@thefatherlife.com. Also, follow him on twitter http://www.twitter.com/chrisosburn