J. Darin Darst

I'm obsessed ... with bowl games.

I know, it's not healthy.

It definitely comes from my childhood where I used to set up four TVs in the living room on New Year's Day to watch all the games. Mom wasn't too happy when I took the TV out of her bedroom to watch four games at once.

Mom: "How can you watch four games at one time? You don't even know what's going on."

Me: "Sure I can, Georgia Tech is beating Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl! If they win, it's going to have to be a split national title!"

Mom: "Just make sure its back in my bedroom tonight so I can watch Rescue 911."

Ahh, Jan. 1, 1991. Memories.

Back to 2008.

I'm amazed to think what we've come to in this day and age is 34 bowl games. THIRTY-FOUR BOWLS?!?!? Do we really need that many?

Since when did bowl games become what everything else in society has become -- rewarding mediocrity. In the 1970s when I was in elementary school and we had a Field Day competition, the person that finished 4th got NOTHING. Top three get ribbons, the best were rewarded, the losers were not. That's how a compeititon works, you reward the people that succeed.

Now everybody wins. It's ok that little Curly Sue finished 43th out of 50 kids in her 3rd grade race. She gets a ribbon. Everybody wins! We wouldn't want you to go home and think you failed. You won! It's a great way to set up kids for life because that's how the real world works (being sarcastic). Just do an average job and get rewarded.

Now when Curly Sue goes to apply for a job at the local Panda Express in the mall when she's 16 and doesn't get it. Don't you think she's going to be a little confused because her whole life she's been never lost?

This is the same idiotic treatment we are getting from the so-called sport that I love -- college football.

Since when did we start rewarding teams for finishing .500? Are the NCAA and bowl officials worried that the players are going to feel bad when they go 6-6, while their friends went 8-3 are are playing in the Libery Bowl? It's called life college football, but I'm not surprised from a sport that continues to determine which two teams play for the championship by human voting and a computer ranking.

Way too many games. We could easily cut it down to 24. I know that won't make everybody happy, but we don't need Conference-USA getting six bids or the ACC getting nine, etc., etc. Let's make it so getting to a bowl is a tremendous accomplishment.

As for the actual games, look at some of the things that jumped out a me:

Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 -- Five games on each day, the way college football should be. Chick-fil-A and Sun povide the best possible matchups on Dec. 31, while Jan. 1 is loaded with the best full day of games.

Hawaii Bowl, Dec. 24 -- The past couple of seasons the Hawaii Bowl has taken a team from the WAC against a Conference-USA team. This year its WAC vs. Pac-10. Much better matchup for the West Coast and will probably give fans a high-scoring affair. The only problem is, hopefully it wont last until 1 a.m. when Santa is supposed to come.

The Congressional Bowl -- ACC No. 9? Are you serious? When's the last time the ACC had nine bowl-eligible teams? This game has Navy vs. Maryland written all over it. This might be the easiest bowl to predict. Now what if the ACC doesn't have enough teams, then we might be looking at Sun Belt No. 2

Notre Dame -- Love them or hate them, they are the darlings of bowl selection and this year it will be the Gator Bowl. The Gator Bowl can take a Big 12 or Big East team and since they had Texas Tech last year, that means they get first choice of Notre Dame is the Irish are bowl-eligible. So expect the Irish to be in Jacksonville on Jan. 1.

Jan. 2 -- Three games on Jan. 2 this year? Sweet. Cotton at 2 p.m., Liberty at 5 p.m. and Sugar at 8 p.m. Tell the wife and loved ones you are busy that Friday. (Wow, Jan. 1 games, Jan. 2 games, then the weekend with NFL playoff games!)

And, the national title is in Miami. Will we see Ohio State vs. SEC, Part 3? Stay tuned...

With Dennis Dodd's updated Spring Top 25, let's take a look at part 2 of the early, early BCS projections:

BCS: Ohio State vs. Georgia. The top two teams in the nation would meet in Miami for all the marbles. Obviously this is an early projection, but for now let's assume Dodd's top 2 teams remain there all season.

The Rose Bowl would get first choice of all the replacement teams, but they love to keep that Big Ten vs. Pac-10 tradition, so expect them to take another Big Ten team if they can -- maybe Illinois or Wisconsin. Now if USC is the Pac-10 representative, I'm not so sure they take Illinois in a rematch game. Wisconsin vs. USC would be there best choice, but it IS possible for them to take a Big 12 team, not likely, but if Missouri is way up there, maybe Top 4, it could have a Missouri vs. USC game.

Now the Sugar Bowl also would lose an anchor team (SEC Champ), so it would get second choice of all the remaining teams. And you better believe if Florida is ranked in the Top 7, the Gators and Tim Tebow are heading to New Orleans.

So now we need to put the rest of the conference champs in place. ACC Champ -- projected Clemson -- heads to the Orange Bowl; Big 12 Champ -- projected Oklahoma -- heads to the Fiesta Bowl.

So this is what we have:

BCS: Ohio State vs. Georgia
Rose: USC vs. Big 10 No. 2 (Wisconsin/Illinois) or Missouri
Orange: Clemson vs.
Sugar: Florida vs.
Fiesta: Oklahoma vs.

Now the rest of the selection for 2009 is as follows -- Fiesta, Sugar and Orange. With the Fiesta getting first choice, they probably would pass on West Virginia to avoid a rematch, but could take Arizona State, if the Sun Devils finish high enough in the final standings. Now if Missouri ends up in the Rose Bowl, then Wisconsin in the Fiesta would be the most logical choice.

Next up is the Sugar Bowl, and they would snag West Virginia (Big East champs) or Missouri. West Virginia travels well, Pat White's final game or the prospects of taking the Big 12 runner up with a potential Heisman Trophy winner in Chase Daniel.

The Orange gets the final pick and still could end up with Missouri if everybody elses passes or West Virginia depending on who the Sugar Bowl takes in front of them.

Now here is the big kicker -- BYU. They could be the BCS party crasher this year. They will start out in the preseason Top 20, could easily run through their conference games. Their non conference games are Northern Iowa, Utah State, Washington and UCLA. Now, they beat UCLA last year and the game is in Provo, but still could lose and they travel to Washington on Sept. 6. If BYU qualifies, they most likely will be headed to Miami, unless the Fiesta Bowl shocks everybody and takes them with the first selection after the replacement picks.

BCS: Ohio State vs. Georgia
Rose: USC vs. Illinois/Wisconsin/Missouri
Orange: Clemson vs. West Virginia/Missouri/BYU
Sugar: Florida vs. West Virginia/Missouri
Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. Arizona State/Wisconsin/BYU

Love it or hate it (and most of you probably hate it), but the WNBA actually starts tonight.

Well, the preseason does -- Seattle at Chicago at 8 p.m.

Are you excited? Probably not, and judging by the average attendance the league gets, I'm guessing only a few of you in select major cities even care about this league. In fact, most people who enjoy this league are women and kids. And you know what? That's ok.

I can't for the life of me figure out why so many people HATE this league and want to see it fail? I mean, I don't like soccer and haven't seen an MLS game in probably five years, but I dont root for the league to go under. What sense would that make? So I can laugh and say "See, I told you soccer sucks! Yeah me! I'm so smart and superior because I hate a league that folded."

For the people that enjoy the MLS, good for them. You just aren't going to get me to watch it. 

I'm tired of hearing "Women's basketball blows, they can't dunk, the play is sloppy, I wish that league would fold."

Why? Why would anybody wish for the league to fold? Would it make you sleep better at night? If there was no WNBA going on during the summer, would that make you following your baseball team that more enjoyable? I just dont get it. I know some of you macho men can't stand women performing in sports and are so threatened every time a woman does something outstanding in the world of sports.

Wait...let me correct that -- it's ok for them to do something outstanding in their own element, but as soon as we start talking about equality, its time to crush them. Remember, we love Annika Sorenstam, but as soon as she wants to try to play with the men, we hate her and tell her to go back to the LPGA -- that's idiotic.

Sorry, I'm going off on a different rant, let me go back to the WNBA. This league has issues, mostly too many teams. If the league cut down to 8 teams, we truely would have the best women's basketball players and the quality of play would increase.

But never should anybody root for the demise. If you dont like it, dont watch it and dont go to games. Don't like "How I Met Your Mother" or "CSI" -- great, don't watch, but don't start writing letters calling for the show to be taken off the air because CBS is pushing it down our throats (I'm sick of that arguement too, the WNBA is forced down our throats -- grow up.)

Now, I'll admit, I've watching some games, hell, I've even GONE to some games. I see people enjoying the games, especially dads with their daughters. Now how could you look an 8-year old girl in the face and tell her "The league you root for SUCKS"

Ok I'm done. Now with the league starting, here is MY starting five:

G: Sue Bird, Seattle: This one probably has more to do with looks than her playing ability, but so what. This is my list! She's the girl next door, the sweetheart that you wish you could have dated in high school/college/early 30s. She can ball too and if I need a point guard, she's handling the rock for me.

G: Diana Taurasi, Phoenix: If you enjoy watching somebody shoot the long ball, this is your girl. Taurasi fired up 259 three-pointers last year. About eight a game. I've seen some highlights and I've seen her bomb shots from beyond NBA range. That alone makes her one of my favorites.

F: Candace Parker, Sparks: I know she hasn't played a game in the WNBA yet, but she is going to be something special. Easily the best player in college the past couple of seasons and she is ready to make her mark in the pros. Check back in about three seasons as she could be the best player the league has ever seen.

F: Lauren Jackson, Seattle: How are the Storm not winning title after title? They have two of the best players in the league and one who is averaging 19.0 ppg and 11.5 rpg. Kind of like having Kobe and Shaq and not winning it all. 

C: Ruth Riley, San Antonio: She's not as good as she used to be, but she's missed only one start in the past five seasons and you need somebody in the middle you can count on. I'll admit it, I have a Ruth Riley autographed picture on my desk, so what? I've been following her career since the Notre Dame years and she'll always be a favorite.