By Marc Lawrence When the Denver Broncos selected Tim Terrific with its second pick in the first-round of this year's NFL draft, they issued a statement. It said last year's 8-8 record was not acceptable, not after rookie coach Josh McDaniels shot out to a six-lap lead before a frightful 2-8 finish. San Diego's third straight 2-3 start under Norv Turner was just a warm-up en route an 11-1 rush through the playoffs... Read more

By Marc Lawrence Don't look now, but it appears as if the South may be rising again. Let's put it another way. When quarterbacks go into battle they are the team's Generals. Some are five-star material (Peyton Manning, 99.9 QB rating last season), others are in the process of earning their stripes (Matt Schaub, 98.6 QB rating in 2009). As a result, teams in this division won more battles than they lost last season... Read more

By Marc Lawrence Entering its 64th year of gridiron competition, the MID AMERICAN CONFERENCE will once again play a balanced schedule, meaning each team will play eight conference games in 2010. Let's hope the results are more balanced that last year when only two teams in the MAC West Division managed to finish the season with a winning record. This on the heels of the 2008 campaign when only Buffalo was on the plus... Read more

By Marc Lawrence Once an AFC division powerhouse when operating under the ‘Central' brand, the AFC North has pretty much settled into a two-team loop with Baltimore and Pittsburgh leading the charge. Together, playing under the AFC North umbrella, the Ravens and Steelers combined to go 163-111-2 this past decade with only four losing seasons between the dynamic duo. On the flip side, Cincinnati and Cleveland paired... Read more

By Marc Lawrence With NFL ‘EAST' division teams leading the charge with a combined total of 13 games played in Conference title tilts this past decade, including an league high four championship game appearances games by squads playing out of the AFC EAST, it speaks to the strength of this group. So does the division's 29-14 ATS mark as non-division road dogs from Game Twelve out this past decade, including a sterling... Read more

By Marc Lawrence Once again, like last year, just three teams make up the INDEPENDENTS yet all three have a say on the participants in the 2010 National Championship BCS game when theses Indy's take on no less than 16 combined opponents that landed bowl bids last season. Rest assured, without a conference affiliation, this self-governing group holds plenty of veto power when it comes to dashing the dreams of many... Read more

By Marc Lawrence ‘Welcome Back' is the theme in 2010 in the C-USA. Its 2009 Most Valuable Player (Houston QB Case Keenum), its 2009 Defensive Player of the Year (UCF DE Bruce Miller) and its 2009 Special Teams Player of the Year (East Carolina WR/KR Dwayne Harris), all seniors, are back, In addition, former Memphis RB Larry Porter and former ECU DB Ruffin McNeill each return to their alma maters as new head coaches... Read more

By Marc Lawrence Firecrackers and the MLB All-Star game signal the month of July. It also signifies the start of the second half of the MLB campaign. The key to each and every team's fortune lies on the pitching staff. Can they sustain or will they fold like a deck of cards? Stay tuned. What we do know is certain pitchers love hurling this time of the season while others tend to get lit up like a roman candle. Listed... Read more

By Marc Lawrence They gained notoriety as the ‘Sure We Cheat' (SWC) league in the 1970's. They then evolved into the Big 8 Conference before expanding into the Big 12. Where they go from here, no one knows. What we know for sure is the Big 12 Conference is back for another college football season in 2010. And we can also likely expect another lackluster performance from this loop come bowl time. Granted, Texas... Read more

By Marc Lawrence When you talk Big 10 Football these days you talk Ohio State. The Buckeyes won at least a share of the last five Big Ten Championships and will look to match the conference record with a sixth straight crown in 2010, equaling the feat first accomplished by Ohio State from 1972-77. OSU became just the second team in conference history to win five straight conference championships after claiming the... Read more