Motivation Monday, Top 25 countdown moves on, Manziel

*Happy Monday everyone. I hope the weekend treated you well.
*If you need something to wake you up Some motivation for you on this Monday
*Let's get to it.
*My top 25 countdown rolls on as we reach the number 22 team in Oklahoma

*This one goes out to the biggest OU fan out there, "Dusty" from the movie Twister.
*The Sooners are reeling after they were throttled by Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. They made some changes bringing in assistants hoping to help Stoops get back to the next level. They go to Notre Dame, Kansas State, and play Okie State in Stillwater. Texas, of course, is in Dallas. They should win all other games. They have dominated Texas the last two years and have beat the rival Cowboys three out of the last four seasons. I'm high on the Longhorns so I say they lose that game. Why? I say Texas controls the game with their offensive line going against OU's very young d-line.
*Boomer Sooner has some weapons on offense but the offense will be dictated by junior quarterback Blacke Bell. A healthy Damien Williams could have a breakout year at the running back spot and the wide receivers bring back some big numbers. Just like their rival OSU, this team could end the year with one loss. Much to Dusty's displeasure, I see them losing three. Regular season record: 9-3
*Johnny Manziel is back in the spotlight, as "Outside The Lines" is looking at Manziel signing autographs for money. O, boy. If you're bored at work
*That's it for this morning. The UND football team has its media day today. Blog to follow.

Day One of UND football, my top 25 rolls on with Notre Dame

Hey football fans..

*Day one is in the books for the UND football team and you could not ask for a better day to start the 2013 campaign.

Some notes:

*The quarterback race between Detroit Lakes, MN. native Joe Mollberg and Ryan Bartels out of Illinois has only just begun. There is no clear-cut number one and I'm guessing there won't be(at least announced to the media) until you see either #6 or #14 trot onto the field for UND's first drive against Valparaiso.

*Both have their own qualities and I'll dive into that the closer we get to kickoff. It seems that they've built a friendship, which is healthy for the team, and both realize the race is only going to make the team better. Story coming tomorrow on the two on WDAZ/WDAY.

*Sophomore wide receiver Kenny Golladay told me that he was NOT one of the 60-65 players that stayed up here in Grand Forks and worked out with teammates. He went back to Chicago and worked out with a personal trainer and focused on his footwork. Many think KG will have a break out year and watching his stuff from last year, I can see why and he says he's faster than last season. Scary. He made some terrific catches on Saturday and I have a feeling I'll be saying that a lot this fall.

*Tempo seems to be a big thing the coaches are harping on. Getting in the play, hustling to the line,
getting the snap off. UND knows they have the weapons on offense and they're playing to their strengths there.

*My college football top 25 countdown rolls on as we arrive at the number 23 slot: Notre Dame

*Many are projecting Notre Dame to finish just outside the top 10. I’m not buying it. Last year was the typical Brian Kelly third year success. The Irish went undefeated before getting smashed in the National Championship. The “Luck of the Irish” was in full effect last season as Notre Dame snuck out several close games.

*I believe this season, the luck will turn against them. Let’s take a look at the schedule:

Trips to Michigan, Pitt, and Stanford. Home stands against Michigan State, Oklahoma, USC, and BYU. Not to mention a contest with Arizona State in Arlington. Good luck. You could make an early argument of at least five losses on that schedule.

*The defense is stacked, I’ll give the Irish that. Notre Dame caught a bad break with Golson but Tommy Rees brings experience and Kelly has already named him the number one at the QB spot and the starter against Temple in the season opener. Rees must cut down on the turnovers. If he doesn’t, the defense will be put in bad situations like they were two seasons ago when the offense turned the ball over almost 30 times.

*Regular season record: 8-4

Top 25 countdown continues, UND football notes

*Happy Friday football fans!
*The Top 25 college football countdown continues today as we reach my preseason #24 team-
#24 Oklahoma State
*This is a typical Mike Gundy squad with a lot of offensive power. The Cowboys have been picked atop the Big 12 and rightfully so. WR Josh Stewart helps whoever will be starting at the quarterback position. Stewart is a great deep threat going for over 1,200 yards last year. Running back Jeremy Smith is coming off a mid-season injury that cut his 2012 season short. This fall, he finds himself on the Doak Walker watch list.
*The quarterback battle is a good one in Stillwater. Clint Chelf and J.W. Walsh had similar numbers last year. Walsh went 2-1 as a starter last year and was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Chelf traveled a different road last season starting the season as the number three quarterback. He went on to start the last five games and win the Cowboys bowl MVP. I think JW will start the entire year unless the wheels fall off.
*The defense has some talent but needs to improve greatly if they want to win the Big 12. In last year's losses(5), the team gave up 59, 41, 44, 51, 41. Yikes.
*The schedule starts off August 31st with Mississippi State in Houston 2:30 on ABC/ESPN2. They should win that one and sweep through the non-conference with ease. I see at least two or three loses in that Big 12 schedule. At Texas and rounding out the season with OU will be their biggest games..and I think two L's.
*Regular season record: 9-3
*UND starts practice tomorrow and all eyes will be on the quarterback battle. It's been the buzz around town and I'm guessing it will be until the first kickoff. From what I say in spring ball, I would say Joe Mollberg and Ryan Bartels are dead even. The recent depth chart agrees with me. The "Pre-Fall Depth Chart" has Mollberg OR Bartels listed as the one(the only position to do so). Like Okie State, whoever does get the job will have great wide receivers to throw to.
*As Grand Forks Herald sports writer Tom Miller and I discussed, the quarterback isn't the only position battle for the green and white. Give a listen.
Tom Miller of The Grand Forks Herald and I discuss UND Football
*I'll be at tomorrow's practice bright and early. Blog to follow. Have a good weekend all.

Football season is here, Top 25 countdown, Tix promotion

*Greetings and happy August 1st football fans!
*August means we have finally reached football season. Camp has started for the NFL teams, most college teams start practice within a week. Four weeks until the college football season begins.
*First weekend of college football: Thursday, Valparaiso at North Dakota. Friday, North Dakota State at Kansas State. Saturday, Bama-Va. Tech, Georgia-Clemson, and LSU-TCU. I'm also intrigued by Washington-Boise State. Monday night also features Fla. State at Pitt. Nothing to crazy, but some solid matchups to open up the season.
*My Top 25 countdown begins today and starting the list is...Wisconsin
*The biggest reason the Badgers made it into my top 25 is because of their soft schedule. They miss out on Nebraska, Michigan, Michigan State. They do travel to Ohio State, a night game in Columbus. They should be undefeated going into that game where anything can happen when those two face each other. Ill, Indiana, Minnesota, and Purdue should be wins..that gets them to seven. I say they split Penn State, Iowa, BYU, and Iowa. taking them to 9 wins.
*The schedule is a blessing for first year coach, Gary Anderson(who comes from Utah State)GREAT HIRE.
*Stave or Phillips is the big question coming into the fall as they battle it out at QB. No matter who earns the spot, they will have a great wide receiving core to throw to.
*I don't think Wisconsin gets to the Rose Bowl this year breaking their 3-year run but I see them doing well in Anderson's first year.
*Regular season record: 9-3
*The University of North Dakota had a neat little promotion to try and sell football season tickets.
'30 Minutes or Less'
*UND coaches and players hand delivered season tickets yesterday to fans. In its first year-trial run, they sold 57 season tickets, bumping them up to the most season tickets sold since 2005. The home schedule sells itself.
*Can you imagine if a team like Alabama did something like this? The number would be in the THOUSANDS.

Johnny Manziel, Kauker, UND football, College football chat

"Ok, listen up everybody, turn up your volumes. Announcement-I got good news..This is the last Sunday without football the rest of the year."
*Most of my readers(all 10 of you) live in the Midwest. This weather has been great(especially if you haven't turned on your AC all summer.) The temps in the 40's are teasing us..making us think football is here. Can't come soon enough.
*Here's Johnny
*Johnny Manziel has been in the media a lot as of late...and here's Johnny again making the news.
*Everyone is going to have different opinions on Manziel's actions and my view won't change your view. But I will say this-There has never been a college athlete that has been under OR will be under the microscope than Johnny Manziel. Johnny Manziel is to college football as LeBron James is to the NBA in regards to being under the watchful eye.
*Alabama-Texas A&M might be the most watched college football regular season game ever...or any college game at that. (September 14th, 2:30, ABC) Man, will College Station be rockin' that weekend.
*Meet K-Dawg
*This is a story I did on "Grand Forks Super Fan" Mark Kauk. I've never seen anything like it..guy is at one game...you leave before him to go to another game..and he beats you to that next game. I think every town has a Mark..just maybe not as committed as Mark.
*The UND football season opens up on a Thursday night, at home, against Valpo. It would be easy to look past Valpo with SDSU, Montana, and Montana State coming to the Alerus the next three games. Those first four games are going to tell us a lot about this team. We know they have one of the best wide receiving cores in the FCS..but what about starting a freshman quarterback(Mollberg or Bartels)..what about the defense that was gashed over and over again last year. I think going 3-1 might be a lot to ask for in that four game stretch to open up the season..anything less than 2-2 would be a blow. The perfect over/under for UND this year is 7 wins. Get 7, beat either SDSU, Montana, or Montana State and I think you make the playoffs.
*As far as BCS goes, I have picked my national champion..and it's a team not in the SEC. I will be dropping my top 25 starting August 1st.
*A quick preview-Notre Dame will have a tough time getting to 7 wins,  Indiana will make a bowl game, Michigan State scares me, and Iowa State and Iowa have the same expectations this year.
*Expect more blog posts this fall.

NBA Finals, Because It's The Cup, Hawks-Clones-Skers over/under

*Welcome back sports fans..
*It's been awhile so let's get to it
*I don't know if you could've asked for a better NBA and Stanley Cup Finals.
*Let's go opposite of the "four-lettered network" and start on the ice.
*Two original squads, three overtime games, and the two hottest teams in hockey clashing for the cup led to a very entertaining series between the Blackhawks and the Bruins. The NHL needed a great series and they got just that-ratings were up all across the board.
*This year's Cup Finals pulled in the "non-traditional hockey fans" who learned there is nothing better than playoff hockey. I know a couple of my non-hockey buddies had a good time playing the #BucciOvertimeChallenge.
*I was back in Iowa for most of the Finals and restaurant servers looked at me weird when I asked if they had "Hockey Night in Canada." Too bad. Their openings were awesome.
Epic
*Although ratings were up for the NHL, it still couldn't touch how many viewers gathered around the TV to watch the veteran Spurs take on King James and the Heat. It looked like Miami was done in Game 6 until Ray (Jesus Shuttlesworth) Allen made Daddy Denzel proud and buried a three that saved LeBron from an off season of being blamed. That's two for James now...
*This year's NBA draft is a yawner...
 *To college football..Here are the over/under's on this years upcoming season.
*Iowa and Iowa State are 5.5..How does that make you feel Hawkeye fans??
*Nebraska is at 9.5
*(Me drinking the kool aid)
*I think Iowa goes OVER, Iowa State OVER, Nebraska OVER.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/eye-on-college-football/22514643/first-2013-college-football-win-totals-released
*CPR will somehow sneak out a win in the last game of the season to once again become bowl eligible. Question is Cyclone fans, how long do you let these seasons fly?
*Ferentz knows this is a critical year..With an unproven quarterback it will be hard for Kirk to manage six wins but I think the running game and defense will carry the Hawkeyes to a bowl game. Look for running back Michael Malloy to get A LOT of playing time behind Mark Weisman.

Playoffs, Touchdown Tommie, TV Ramblings, Tornado Season, and more.

*Greetings.
*The NBA and NHL playoffs are not college football season or March Madness, but they sure are a lot of fun. The intensity grows with every round and you can find a good game on the court or the ice(most times multiple contests) on the tube every night. The crowds are electric, the intensity by the players is full-throttle, and the "do or die" games is what sports is all about.
*Saturday night we got to see a game seven in the NBA with the Bulls and Nets. The Nets were at home, the Bulls were "RoseHinrichDengless" and Jay-Z's own Brooklyn Nets are much better on paper. Chicago won. That's good stuff. The Bulls have their work cutout for them in the next round, however. The Heat are waiting.
*As great as the NBA playoffs are, the NHL postseason is superb. Even though you can say this for any sport, it holds especially true in hockey-One mess up by one player in one-split second can cost you a game and/or a series.
*Husker fans can "live in the past" for yet another day. Finally, Tommie Frazier is headed to the College Football Hall Of Fame. Tommie's career was magnified by one run
"Eddie George stole my Heisman"
*TV thoughts-
Over a game of golf, another TV sports reporter/anchor were chatting it up about the biz. I mentioned to him that I thought it was incredible how someone in this business can go without having/using a Twitter account. One night during the Boston Marathon coverage, we saw the cable news networks get owned by the website. Absolutely owned. Twitter is a great way of getting/sharing information from and to your viewers. It is hard, more than viewers would estimate, how hard it is to tweet while you're at the scene of a fire or any news story. You're getting video, information, etc. TV stations always pride themselves on being the FIRST to report a story whether it be on-air or online. That's where Twitter can go wrong..reporters are want to be the first to get it out without getting their facts straight. The internet is a dangerous game.
*Recently, as most of my Iowans have dealt with, Fargo was preparing for a flood. Luckily, it didn't get as bad as they thought it would. It is fun watching TV stations slug it out on the coverage of such a big event. A, B, and C blocks are all about that one event...aka the beginning of the news until after the weather. Live shots, multiple paks, it's what the TV business is all about.
*A great story idea for a news reporter would be the overhype of these events. Does a TV station or the news over blow an event that has not arrived. For example, in Iowa where the state is on the borderline of the freezing mark, meteorologists have a hard time predicting if a winter storm will be all snow or ice/snow or rain/ice/snow..failing to predict snow fall. But all the time, we see a TV say something is arriving...a flood or a storm..and then it never comes. It's not the TV station's fault..but they're the one relaying the message. How much money/time is lost preparing for these events that never actually happen.
*Speaking of storms, "Tornado Season" is finally here. "It's the Wonder of Nature Baby!!" 1:49-1:55
*Next blog I will present the fourth best hoops movie of all time.