The Weekend Wrap

The BCS gets it right (for the most part): It will be Oklahoma and Florida playing for the BCS Championship next month in Miami. There isn't a whole lot of complaining you can do about the matchup.

You cannot deny Florida their spot in the title game after beating Number One Alabama in the SEC Championship Game on a neutral field. The Gators, undermanned without Percy Harvin, beat the top ranked team in the country. They deserve to play for the championship based on this one victory.

Oklahoma deserves to go as well. No, not based on their blowout victory over Missouri in the Big 12 Championship Game, but on the body of work overall. Texas fans can complain all they want that they deserve to go, but the bottom line is the Longhorns didn't make the big play when they had to and lost at Texas Tech.

Sure the Longhorns beat Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry/Shootout (the name has changed over the years). Yes it was on a neutral field. But, Oklahoma got the big wins they needed at the end of the season, not in October. They beat Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State late in the season while the Longhorns were beating up on the likes of Baylor and Texas A&M.

You can't complain when you don't take care of business. And Texas didn't take care of business.

Now we have a matchup that could, potentially, be a shootout. Oklahoma, with QB Sam Bradford, puts up points by the dozen. Florida, with Time Tebow at the helm, has been on fire ever since Ole Miss beat them earlier in the season. In terms of offensive firepower, this matchup has it all.

That being said, who wouldn't want to see a playoff that includes Texas and their own star QB in Colt McCoy? If you're going to talk about a six team field (in our dreams), then you would have to include USC, Penn State, and Alabama, with apologies to Texas Tech, Utah and Ohio State, who would be on the outside looking in.

They say that dreams do come true, and maybe one day a playoff in college football will happen. But until then just be relieved - for now - that they got it right with Florida-Oklahoma.

Of course, if the game isn't any good, then let the complaints come in by the thousands!

* Texas Tech has a right to be ticked off. The Red Raiders beat Texas, but the Longhorns are going to the Fiesta Bowl and Mike Leach's team is on the outside looking in. What would you rather see - Utah v. Alabama in the Sugar Bowl or Texas Tech v. Alabama? The BCS says they are just following rules, and the rules say only two teams from one conference can go, but to leave Texas Tech out is just plain wrong.

* Of the remaining BCS games, Texas-Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl is going to be a damn good game. USC v. Penn State in the Rose Bowl should be very competitive as well. The Orange Bowl between Cincinnati and Virginia Tech could be a snoozer. Again, you have to ask if Texas Tech would be more deserving of a spot than a four-loss Va. Tech team.

Overall the system worked, but to leave Texas Tech out in the cold just isn't right.

Week 14 Thoughts: Another Sunday in the NFL, and the big picture is getting less and less fuzzy.

* The Dallas Cowboys are pretenders. Dallas had things going their way in Pittsburgh yesterday afternoon, holding a 13-3 lead going into the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh shut the Cowboys out 17-0 in the fourth and won 20-13. Tony Romo threw a key interception with under two minutes to play. Terrell Owens was pretty much a non-factor. The Cowboys are more style than substance, and can anyone remember the last time Romo went and won a big game? Anyone?

* It may not be a popular thing to say in Baltimore, but the Steelers are contenders. They have heart, a pretty darned good defense, and an offense that does just enough to get the job done. The Titans may have the more impressive record, but if Tennessee and Pittsburgh meet in the playoffs, don't be shocked if the Steelers come up with the win.

* Marvin Lewis is a good coach; a good man, and doesn't deserve the hell he is going through with the Bungals (mis-spelled on purpose). If Mike Brown had a heart, he'd put Marvin out of his misery and let him go now, because each loss is uglier than the one that came before it.

* The Lions gave the Vikings a run for their money, but in the end they did what they do best. Lose. At this point, it would be an upset if Detroit doesn't go 0-16. Rod Marinelli is a good man and knows his football, but is obviously in way over his head. Who would actually want to be the coach of this team?

* Atlanta may have lost to the Saints, but you have to give credit where credit is due. Mike Smith has done a great job as the new coach in the ATL, but no one knew who he was when the Falcons hired him. If he's not the NFL Coach of the Year, then someone should start an investigation. Thomas Dimitroff deserves to be NFL Executive of the Year, considering all the changes he made. One of those changes - quarterback Matt Ryan - will be Offensive Rookie of the Year.

De La Hoya Demolished: Hopefully Saturday was the last time that Oscar De La Hoya steps into the ring. The beating he took at the hands of Manny Pacquiao was frightening. Pacquiao may not have the punching power that he had when he was fighting at the lower weights, but his hand speed more than made up for it.

De La Hoya was hit with punches that he just didn't see, which hurt just as much - if not more - than the punches he saw and couldn't get out of the way from. Who would ever have thought that De La Hoya would have quit in his corner?

With any luck, this is the last time we'll see De La Hoya in the ring. He doesn't need to fight anymore. He has nothing left to accomplish. He won world titles in no less than six different divisions, was the most popular fighter of his time, and made more money than he will ever know what to do with.

That being said, it would also be wrong to consider De La Hoya an all time great. He was a very good fighter, maybe even a great fighter. But he was not, nor should he be considered, an all time great.

Does he have wins over great fighters on his resume? Yes he does. But, Julio Cesar Chavez was shot long before his first matchup against De La Hoya, and Pernell 'Seet Pea' Whitaker was a shell of his Hall of Fame self by the time he lost to De La Hoya in 1997.

Other than that, which great fighters has De La Hoya beat?

Not only has De La Hoya not bet a great fighter in their prime, but he lost every big fight he was ever in. Felix Trinidad beat him in 1999 because Oscar tried to run instead of fight. He lost twice to Sugar Shane Mosley. Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather schooled him. And Bernard Hopkins knocked him out with ONE BODY SHOT.

De La Hoya was always more style than substance. He was always more of a businessman than a fighter. A lot of people boguht into the hype. De La Hoya was a great salesman. But after what happened on Saturday night, would you really spend more of your hard earned money on a De La Hoya PPV fight?