2012 NFL Nike Gloves - Illuminati

Yesterday, Nike released the new NFL uniforms. Along with a few new looks and updated fabrics, Nike released all 32 NFL team's new gloves. The gloves, like many college teams, has their logo spread across the palm of the hand (Bottom right). A few people have suggested that this new uniform addition can become an issue througout the following seasons. Some feel that the placement of the hands to make the logo, replicate one of the illuminati signs (Top right). Another common issue that could arise is the exccesive celebration penalty. After scoring a touchdown, players can be penalized for celebrating (or unsportsman-like conduct). All of this could lead to either the eradication of the gloves, or the excesive celebration rule. I believe that neither will be removed but the gloves have the highest possiblity of being banned (Not ALL gloves, just the new Nike gloves).

2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament - Bracket Picks

PLAY-INS


*For South's 16th seed*
Mississippi Valley St. vs. Western Kentucky - Mississippi Valley St.

*For West's 14th seed*
BYU vs. Iona - Iona

*For Midwest's 16th seed*
Lamar vs. Vermont - Vermont

*For Midwest's 12th seed*
USF vs. California - USF

ROUND OF 64


SOUTH
1 Kentucky vs. 16 Mississippi Valley St. - Kentucky
8 Iowa St. vs. 9 UCONN - UCONN
5 Wichita St. vs. 12 VCU - VCU
4 Indiana vs. 13 New Mexico St. - Indiana
6 UNLV vs. 11 Colorado - UNLV
3 Baylor vs. 14 South Dakota St. - Baylor
7 Notre Dame vs. 10 Xavier - Xavier
2 Duke vs. 15 Lehigh - Duke

WEST
1 Michigan St. vs. 16 LIU - Michigan St.
8 Memphis vs. 9 St. Louis - Memphis
5 New Mexico vs. 12 Long Beach St. - New Mexico
4 Louisville vs. 13 Davidson - Louisville
6 Murray St. vs. 11 Colorado St. - Murray St.
3 Marquette vs. 14 Iona - Marquette
7 Florida vs. 10 Virginia - Florida
2 Missouri vs. 15 Norfolk St. - Missouri

EAST
1 Syracuse vs. 16 UNC-Asheville - Syracuse
8 Kansas St. vs. 9 Southern Mississippi - Kansas St.
5 Vanderbilt vs. 12 Harvard - Vanderbilt
4 Wisconsin vs. 13 Montana - Wisconsin
6 Cincinnati vs. 11 Texas - Cincinnati
3 Florida St. vs. 14 St. Bonaventure - Florida St.
7 Gonzaga vs. 10 West Virginia - West. Virginia
2 Ohio St. vs. 15 Loyola Marymount - Ohio St.

MIDWEST
1 North Carolina vs. 16 Vermont - North Carolina
8 Creighton vs. 9 Alabama - Alabama
5 Temple vs. 12 USF - USF
4 Michigan vs. 13 Ohio - Michigan
6 San Diego St. vs. 11 North Carolina St. - North Carolina St.
3 Georgetown vs. 14 Belmont - Georgetown
7 St. Mary's vs. 10 Purdue - Purdue
2 Kansas vs. 15 Detroit - Kansas

ROUND OF 32


SOUTH
1 Kentucky vs. 9 UCONN - Kentucky
12 VCU vs. 4 Indiana - Indiana
6 UNLV vs. 3 Baylor - UNLV
10 Xavier vs. 2 Duke - Duke

WEST
1 Michigan St. vs. 8 Memphis - Michigan St.
5 New Mexico vs. 4 Louisville - Louisville
6 Murray St. vs. 3 Marquette - Murray St.
7 Florida vs. 2 Missouri - Missouri

EAST
1 Syracuse vs. 8 Kansas St. - Kansas St.
5 Vanderbilt vs. 4 Wisconsin - Vanderbilt
6 Cincinnati vs. 3 Florida St. - Florida St.
10 West Virginia vs. 2 Ohio St. - Ohio St.

MIDWEST
1 North Carolina vs. 9 Alabama - North Carolina
12 USF vs. 4 Michigan - Michigan
11 North Carolina St. vs. 3 Georgetown - Georgetown
10 Purdue vs. 2 Kansas - Kansas

SWEET SIXTEEN


SOUTH
1 Kentucky vs. 4 Indiana - Kentucky
6 UNLV vs. 2 Duke - Duke

WEST
1 Michigan St. vs. 4 Louisville - Michigan St.
6 Murray St. vs. 2 Missouri - Missouri

EAST
8 Kansas St. vs. 5 Vanderbilt - Kansas St.
3 Florida St. vs. 2 Ohio St. - Florida St.

MIDWEST
1 North Carolina vs. 4 Michigan - North Carolina
3 Georgetown vs. 2 Kansas - Kansas

ELITE EIGHT


SOUTH
1 Kentucky vs. 2 Duke - Kentucky

WEST
1 Michigan St. vs. 2 Missouri - Missouri

EAST
8 Kansas St. vs. 3 Florida St.

MIDWEST
1 North Carolina vs. 2 Kansas - Kansas

FINAL FOUR
Kentucky vs. Missouri - Missouri
Florida St. vs. Kansas - Kansas

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Missouri 65
Kansas 72

2011-2012 Bowl Picks

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL - Florida St. vs. Notre Dame

Pick: Florida St. 26, Notre Dame 34

Key: FSU lacks the ability to convert on third down and it will kill them, especially while in the endzone. FSU will need a big game from E.J. Manuel and Dustin Hopkins (yes, their kicker), to pull off a victory over a talented Notre Dame team.

OUTBACK BOWL - Michigan St. vs. Georgia

Pick: Michigan St. 13, Georgia 21

Key: Aaron Murray has to get the Michigan St. defense backpedaling for the Georgia backs to win the game.

CAPITAL ONE BOWL - Nebraska vs. S. Carolina

Pick: Nebraska 20, S. Carolina 27

Key: Get the ball to Marcus Lattimore as much as possible.

TAXSLAYER.COM GATOR BOWL - Ohio St. vs. Florida

Pick: Ohio St. 14, Florida 17

Key: John Brantley’s health, accuracy, and football IQ need to be on par for the Gators to win… Will Muschamp and Charlie Weis need to open up their  playbook and stop running a conservative offense for four quarters as well.

VIZIO ROSE BOWL - Wisconsin vs. Oregon

Pick: Wisconsin 17, Oregon 24

Key: Two great backs, 1 has a better O-Line (Oregon)

TOSTITO’S FIESTA BOWL - Stanford vs. Oklahoma St.

Pick: Stanford 27, Oklahoma St. 38

Key: Andrew Luck vs. Brandon Wheeden... enough said. 

ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL - Michigan vs. Virginia Tech

Pick: Michigan 34, Virginia Tech 7

Key: Denard Robinson and Fitzgerald Toussaint will have Virginia Tech's 'D' guessing all game long.

DISCOVER ORANGE BOWL - W. Virginia vs. Clemson

Pick: W. Virginia 27, Clemson 28

Key: Clemson’s pass defense needs to make big plays and force W. Virginia out of their game plan.

AT&T COTTON BOWL - Kansas St. vs. Arkansas

Pick: Kansas St. 17, Arkansas 30

Key: Arkansas has to mix in the run along with a stellar passing attack.

ALLSTATE BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - Alabama vs. LSU

Pick: Alabama 20, LSU 13

Key: Alabama has to make the most of their opportunities. Their 6-9 OT loss to LSU earlier this season featured four missed field goals (1 blocked) and a key end zone interception. Nick Saban is arguably one of the best head coaches in college football and will surely make sure his team is prepared for this rematch.

If anyone would like my pick for a different bowl game, comment with the name of the bowl game and I will be sure to share my thoughts.

SEC... A 14-Team Power Conference?

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) has been the workhorse of the college football world over the past half-century, bringing home the past five National Championships. As of recently though, other conferences have been losing and retrieving new teams as a possible way to keep up with the SEC. Teams that don’t automatically qualify (Non-AQ) for BCS bowl games; such as Boise State, Texas Christian (TCU) and Utah, have moved out of their previous conferences into new ones to gain the attention of voters. TCU and Boise State moved out of their old conferences into the Mountain West Conference (MWC) temporarily until they can move into the bigger conferences. TCU, who originally planned to move into the Big East conference as of 2012, has recently been in talks with the Big-12 conference. If TCU and the Big-12 come to an agreement, this could open the door for Boise State to move into the Big East (which in my opinion seems unintelligent). Utah, who was already a member of the MWC, moved to the PAC-12 conference, effective this year. But it’s not just the smaller schools that are moving. The University of Colorado recently moved out of the Big-12 conference into the Pac-12 conference to become the twelfth team (was recently names the Pac-10). The SEC has also been in talks with Texas A&M University, another Big-12 team. Texas A&M is almost guaranteed to join the SEC within the next few seasons, if not next season. The talk has been however who the 14th team will be. Rumors have swirled about the possibility of Missouri or Clemson being the 14th team, however none of these rumors have been confirmed. In my personal opinion, the following teams are the best candidates for the SEC’s 14th team.

• Clemson – The SEC currently has three states where two of the teams call home. (Alabama: Alabama and Auburn, Mississippi: Mississippi and Mississippi State, and Tennessee: Vanderbilt and Tennessee). Clemson could add a fourth state to the mix, with the SEC already having the University of South Carolina. Clemson also fits well in the SEC due to their location because of the conference alignment (Texas A&M will fall into the West while Clemson would fall into the East)
• West Virginia – Location again. Already located in the south (and could easily fall into the SEC – East), West Virginia fits perfectly. Also, the speed that the University of West Virginia seems to always have, would fit well in a fast paced SEC conference.

Look for the SEC to continue its supremacy as college football’s toughest conference, with or without the additions.

Natural Disasters

2011 has been a year of natural disasters. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires have ravaged the U.S. this year. As of September 6th, 1,764 tornadoes have been confirmed. Most of us probably remember the outbreak of tornadoes earlier this year (April 25-28th to be exact). 336 tornadoes were recorded in those three days (the largest outbreak of tornadoes ever recorded), four of which were strong enough to be rated EF5 (highest possible rating for a tornado). As well as the tornadoes, hurricanes are making there mark as well. With Hurricane Season in full swing, three storms have begun to brew (one in the Gulf of Mexico, and two in the Atlantic Ocean). Katia, Maria, and Nate have sprung onto weather radars only a few weeks after Hurricane Irene left the eastern seaboard with $10.1 billion dollars in total damage. On top of these hurricanes, it is estimated that the current Texas wildfire has already racked up over $1 billion dollars in total damage. With all of the major events that took place last year, and even more this year, I strongly believe that natural disasters are on the rise. The only thing that we can do is to make sure that we are prepared.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Leaked Information & Expected Release Date)

Shortly after the release of the Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation map pack, information on the latest Call of Duty game (Modern Warfare 3) was leaked through the internet. Not long after information began to spread, Activision released four teaser trailers, one in England, France, Germany and New York City. The idea that many are taking from the leaked information is that the game is supposed to be set in World War III and other countries bring the war to the heart of the United State, in New York City, New York. In the teaser trailer, the large city is being invaded by enemy troops through the sky and through the Hudson River. Leaked information also includes an “unprecedented online universe”. Although it is unknown what exactly the online universe is, many rumors are spreading. One rumor is that players and their custom made soldiers will run around a giant “Call of Duty world”, searching for matches. I personally believe that the online universe is more along the lines of cross-gaming. In other words, players with Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) for the Xbox 360 console will be able to play against players who own MW3 on the Playstation 3 console. The game is said to be released on November 8^th of this year, a date that is reliable since all of the other Call of Duty franchise games were released around the same date. When the game is released, I will be looking to see if the game can compete with the very intense Battlefield 3 rival, whose graphics are expected to blow Call of Duty’s away.

Western Conference Champs: Memphis Grizzlies?

This year’s NBA Playoffs have already left many fans bewildered. The Atlanta Hawks knocked off Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic, which was a little shocking. But by far, the most jaw dropping event of the Playoffs this far, is the Memphis Grizzlies upset victory over the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs. The 61 win team dropped four of six games against the Grizzlies. The series win was the first in the franchise’s history. Led by Zach Randolph, Mike Conley & Marc Gasol (Paul Gasol’s younger brother), the Grizzlies crashed the boards, and attacked fearlessly inside the paint to shock the basketball world. The Grizzlies knocked off the team with the NBA’s second best record in the opening series, and took the momentum into Oklahoma City taking the first game of the series. So much for home court advantage. Zach Randolph had 34 points and added ten rebounds to lead the way. Marc Gasol added 20 points and 13 rebounds to help upend the Thunder in game one. The Thunder stole game two after jumping out to an early lead. The Grizzlies began the second quarter down by 11 points. They kept up the rest of the game, but they couldn’t cut the lead down and the Thunder won 111-102. Game three is Saturday at 5pm. I personally believe that the Grizzlies have a really good shot at the NBA Finals. If they can compete with the Thunder like they did in game one for the rest of the series, I feel that they can pull off another upset. Also, if Dallas can take their 2-0 series lead over the two-time defending champion L.A. Lakers, I believe that Memphis can pull of a third straight upset and advance to the Championship series. After all, the Grizzlies defeated the Dallas Mavericks three out of four games during the regular season.