NFL football

Betting on the Jacksonville Jaguars has made me miserable so far this year, and I am sure that I'm not alone in that feeling. They've put up impressively strong performances, then followed them up with mystifyingly bad ones. There is no theory or system that could explain how a team that beat the surprising Jets 41-0 one week could come back the very next week and lose by 20 to Houston. Or how they can do a better job shutting down the Colts than anyone has done all year a week after they annihilated Pittsburgh, then let Washington run all over them. Read more about nfl

With college basketball season just around the corner, it's time to take a look at the teams that could make some noise in the big dance this year. There are the obvious candidates - perennial powers like Duke and North Carolina, refreshed programs like UCLA and Arizona and new powers like defending champs Florida. November is one of the defining months n the NFL season. Injuries start to creep up on teams, testing depth and resolve. It's also the point where some teams start to build momentum towards a playoff push, while others start looking ahead to vacations with their family and friends in the off season. Pain and desperation is becoming more of a factor, and all of these dynamics will be at work in an important weekend in the National Football League.
College basketball season starts next week, so it's time to pick a winner for the tournament. These picks will almost certainly change as some programs underachieve, and others play way over their heads. Still, it wouldn't be any fun if you didn't give it a try. Here, then, is a look at four teams. If I had to bet now I would say that the National Champion will be one of them. Without further ado, here are my 2006 college basketball predictions.