While I've Been Gone
Posted January 2, 2009, 9:00 AM ET

Happy New Year...I hope 2009 will be better than '08. Last year sucked...kind of like the bowl games I've been watching the past few weeks.

I'm back in the studio and on the air today. The three week hiatus is always a good time to spend with friends and family and get caught up on all the things that I never have time to do while I'm working. Of course, it never makes any sense to me why we get so much time off in December, since it's one of the best times of the year on the sports calendar.

Since I've been gone, there have been a number of interesting topics to address:

The Carolina Panthers are taking their fans through each end of the emotional spectrum. Between kicks in New York and New Orleans, the Panthers have sniffed everything from a one-seed to a five-seed. The good news is that they are not the Dallas Cowboys. How 'bout 'em?

The Wild Card weekend in the NFL has some great match-ups. I'm going against the odds and picking all four road teams to win. I like Indy, Baltimore, Atlanta and Philly to go in hostile environments and pick up playoff wins. Of course, "hostile" might not be the appropriate word, since Minnesota and Arizona are having a tough time selling out this weekend...and how ridiculous is that?

The bowl season has been flat. I blame that on too many games with too many average teams. I love college football, but the system is completely screwed up. With the exception of a few games, the match-ups have been putrid.

The ACC was very disappointing in the post-season....even though the conference finally won a BCS game, thanks to the Hokies' Orange Bowl victory over Cincy. Given the advantageous match-ups, the ACC ended up 4-6...I really expected the conference to win 7+ bowl games. Somebody, please explain to me what Georgia Tech was doing during the Chic-Fil-A game? I know LSU had time to prepare, but losing 38-3 at home is disgusting. I guess I should point out that LSU has won 18 straight games against ACC teams.

As weak as the ACC effort was in the post-season, it has been easily matched and exceeded by one of my faithful friends....Big Ten football. Once again, our slow neighbors to the North have watched their conference get destroyed on the national level. Heading into Monday's Ohio State-Texas BCS game, the Big Ten has been an impressive 1-5 so far. In the past three bowl years, the Big Ten is 6-15, including an 0-5 BCS mark.

Thanks to South Carolina, the SEC is 3-1, but the most impressive league has been the Pac 10, with a perfect 5-0 record. The USC Trojans are as good as anybody....and that includes Florida, Oklahoma or the Detroit Lions.

Back to the Gamecocks...Steve Spurrier has turned into a drip. How bad have his teams played down the stretch? Not only are the Gamecocks putrid, they play with no fire, enthusiasm or purpose. Does Spurrier actually go to practice, or does he play golf all week and put his visor on before kick-off? USC football fans should be livid with their year-end performances.

Back in November, I asked a question to the fans on the show....which team will have more wins on January 1st...the Bobcats or Panthers? The answer, the Carolina Panthers, 12-11. I knew it would be a close race.

Speaking of the Bobcats, I couldn't help but notice that Sean May continues to wear nice suits on the bench. Coach Larry Brown doesn't believe the former UNC star is able to run up and down the court because of his lack of conditioning. I'm sorry, but when you're paid millions of dollars to play pro sports, straying in shape is a prerequisite. Sean May is an embarrassment.

One more Bobcat note: I read online that the team has decided to keep their radio rights on a Charlotte radio station that has a Spanish format. Brilliant move. Now, the Bobcats can't be seen or heard.

I noticed the Sagarin Basketball rankings are out, and the ACC is ranked 1-2-3. The Heels are #1, Clemson #2 and Duke #3. No disrespect to the computer geeks, but I have a feeling the beasts of the Big East might have an argument.

I guess we can thank Charles Barkley for bringing in the new year in style. The outlandish TNT broadcaster was arrested in Arizona for the suspicion of drinking. The best part is that he told the officers he was off to get the best BJ of his life, and if the officer could make the DUI disappear, he'd tattoo the officer's name on his rear end. Nice touch, Charles.

Finally, I found somebody on television that is more difficult to understand on TV than Dick Clark....it was co-host Kellie Pickler. Damn, girl...keep your mouth shut.

Happy New Year.