Duke Keys to Success

The big Carolina vs. Duke game is less then a week away and I can not wait. Back during UCLA's great runs, they followed the pyramid of success at Duke that is no different. I think that UCLA's blocks might have been a little different.
Thank the guys at North Carolina State blog Section Six for this creation.

A letter to the Special One

Endy in the Outfield is at it again, now he is trying to fix his beloved Liverpool Football Club. He penned this letter seeking help from someone.

Dear Special One,

Consider this an open invitation Jose. Since September 20th you have been out of football, and those 4 months have been very long for Prem fans across the globe. Especially for the kop. After 23 games and only 10 wins, and zero wins since boxing day, it appears the Rafa Rotating Manager has basically rotated Liverpool out of the BPL title chances and maybe even out of the Champions League next year altogether (good chance Joe Wolf's vertical will see his AC Milan vs. Liverpool UEFA Cup final in Turkey next year). Of course Rafa will try to use the Champions League or the FA Cup to try and save his job. However, the season is more than just 13 Champions League games, or an FA Cup. Scousers want the Prem title which we have never seen since the BPL came about. This is where I offer, actually I beg you Jose, to come to Anfield and lead us to a BPL title.

Rafa and our American owners are making a mockery of LFC and once again seemed to have given up on the Prem this year. The only way to right the ship is with the manager who is fantastic. So Jose if your reading Only Time Will Tell today, please consider making the move to Liverpool. Your our only hope, of course you will realize that Ryan Babel is more than a Carling Cup player, that Harry Kewell is overrated, that Fernando Torres can play every day, and selling Sissoko to Juventus was a dumb move.

My guess is that after February 10th LFC will need a new manager after they play Chelsea, and that man is you, Jose Mourinho.

After all YOU ARE FANTASTIC.

Sincerely an upset LFC fan,

Endy in the Outfield

Another Super Strike from Ronaldo

EPL Manchester United v Portsmouth Ronaldo - Freekick

Cristiano Ronaldo's freekick against Porstmouth in the English Premier League, might be one of the best ever.

There is something in the water at Mater Dei

Every time you turn around a certain high school in California is producing a quarterback that will excel in college and this year will be no different at Mater Dei. Approximately eight years ago, Mater Dei has led by Matt Leinart, who later was a top ten pick in the NFL and won a Heisman Trophy at USC. During his time there Leinart was backed up by Hawaii gunslinger Colt Brennan.

Over the course of the last couple of years, the school has been grooming their next great signal caller, junior Matt Barkley. Very few high school freshman step in at a top ranked program like Mater Dei as a quarterback, but that is exactly what he did. Barkley is the number one ranked junior in the land by Rivals.com. Just like Leinart, Barkley will be playing for Pete Carroll and USC.

Mater Dei has been one of the best football programs in the country for some. Mater Dei is one of two high schools in the nation with two Heisman-trophy winning alumni. Who knows in a couple of years there might be another star quarterback getting ready to lead Mater Dei.

Special One looks good in a Liverpool kit

With Liverpool loss at West Ham United, the idea of the 'Pool having a new manager seems more and more like a possibility. The best choice might be the Special One. During his Setanta skit last week, the Special One showed how he would like in a Liverpool kit, and to some members of the Kops its the perfect look.

Santana, Santana, Santana, Santana

After a winter of watching his favorite teams destroy his life, Endy in the Outfield is back with his view on Johan Santana's trade to his beloved Mets.

By Endy in the Outfield

For once one of my teams doesn't let me down. Being a Mets, Eagles, and Liverpool fan usually means disappointment, so after hearing all week on Mike and the Angry Puppy, ESPN, and the New York Papers that the Mets were in the lead for Santana I figured not to get my hopes up.

After all we didn't have the prospects to match the Yanks and Sox, we didn't even have Jared Camp. All we had was 2 good OF prospects (Fernando Martinez, Carlos Gomez) and a couple decent pitching prospects (Mike Pelfrey, Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey, Deolis Guerra). Of course I figured we'd part with our number 1 pitching and outfield prospects in Martinez and Humber if they had the chance to get Santana. So imagine the level of happiness I felt when I learned that not only did we get the 2 time cy young award winning lefty, but we only parted with Gomez, Humber, Mulvey, and Guerra. No Martinez and no Pelfrey in the deal meant we wouldn't have to rape our farm system to acquire Santana.

Obviously everything hinges on the Mets actually signing the Johan. Which shouldn't be a problem (hand over the keys to the vault Mr. Wilpon, give this man his 7 years). With a rotation of Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez, John Maine, Oliver Perez, and 60 year old El Duque, the Mets should be primed to win the NL East and shut up Jimmy Rollins. Now the only problem is, who do we call up when the inevitable happens when Alou misses a month, and Endy Chavez' balky hamstring flares up that he recently re injured again in winter ball?

Now I'm waiting patiently for the Eagles to acquire that play making receiver (Chad Johnson?), and Liverpool to acquire the man we know as The Special One (rotating Rafa Manager anyone?)

Thank God He Chose Duke

The Only Time Will Tell Crew has selected Shavlik Randolph as our next Duke player that sucked at the next level. Randolph could go any where he wanted for college and in the end he chose Duke over North Carolina and North Carolina State. Thank God.

If not for the fact that NBA teams can not release injured players, Randolph would be out of the league. Check out those stats, .5 rebounds per game, yes that is it. Randolph has lacked that scoring touch averaging zero points a game.

United vs. Arsenal in the FA Cup: Oh the Memories

With United and Arsenal being drawn together in the FA Cup fifth round, it's only proper to look back at Ryan Giggs great goal in the 1999 FA Cup semi-finals.

Here are the other fifth round ties, to be played Feb 16 & 17:

• Bristol Rovers v Southampton
• Cardiff City v Wolverhampton Wanderers
• Sheffield United v Middlesbrough
• Liverpool v Barnsley
• Manchester United v Arsenal
• Preston North End v Portsmouth
• Coventry City v West Bromwich Albion
• Chelsea v Huddersfield Town
  

SEC's Power starts in February

Every year fans and talking heads talk about how great the Southeastern Conference is and that can be tied to one thing: recruiting. Every year four or five teams from the league are ranked in the top ten of recruiting.

• 2006: Florida, Georgia, LSU, and Auburn were all ranked in the top 10.
• 2007: Florida, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Georgia and Alabama were all ranked in the top 10.

This year is no different, with signing day a week away, the SEC has again showed its true colors with three schools in the top four and four in top 15. The drawing power of the conference has been on full display this year as high school seniors like Patrick Johnson (above) and Omar Hunter have switched their commitments after visiting SEC schools. Johnson first committed to Miami and then switched LSU, while Hunter committed to the fat man and Notre Dame then switched to Florida.

One of the things that has made the conference so dominate over the last couple of years is their willingness to recruit other sections of the country. In the past the SEC used to stay in the South to recruit, but now that has all changed. Florida has gone to both Pennsylvania and New Jersey to get top players, while Georgia in the past has gotten both Knowshon Moreno and Kade Weston out of the Garden State.

As SEC teams continue to win BCS Bowl games and National Championships, the conference will continue to win the recruiting National Championship.