Atlanta here I come

Last night we got an excellent game to settle the Pac-10 Championship - who would have thought Oregon could get to Pasadena after that absurdly awful opener against Boise State? Now it's time for the matchup everyone's been pointing to for weeks. I keep hearing commentators proclaim how incredible Alabama is - they're better than last year, while UF is struggling. That doesn't appear to synch up the facts, since UF has won every game but one in their current streak by double digits while Bama had to rally in the fourth quarter against Auburn and LSU and blocked a game ending field goal to survive Tennessee. Details, details - don't you know only one coach has been able to win back to back games against the mighty Nick Saban (if you ignore his whole career before LSU)? Hey, how many coaches have won back to back against Urban Meyer in his ENTIRE career? Oh that's right, only Tommy Tuberville. Details, details.

The reality is this: while both teams are excellent Urban Meyer has been considerably more effective when a championship's on the line than Saban has. Give me the team with the better coach, the better QB and the better special teams and I'll take my chances. Florida's that team, and if they play as they normally do they will be on their way to Pasadena. Then we can all go see if Nebraska can induce BCS chaos by beating Texas, especially since some have floated scenarios of an SEC rematch if they do so. I don't believe that would or should happen regardless of who wins the game. An unbeaten TCU deserves their shot over a one loss anyone. Unless Pittsburgh beats Cincinnati it will be a moot point anyway.

Tim Donaghy's book is coming out after all. He's going to be on 60 Minutes Sunday - hopefully they'll ask some tough questions and try to verify what he's putting out there as opposed to doing a Roger Clemens/Michael Vick rollover interview. I'm glad the book will be released, because while Donaghy's motives have to be considered suspect he may be able to force the NBA to do more to address their issues with officials than they did when this scandal broke. The disgraced NBA referee also has a new Facebook fan group to promote his book- who wouldn't want to have "became a fan of Tim Donaghy" on their page as an activity?

If you were an elite athlete looking to improve your performance, it stands to reason you might look for advice on what to eat and which supplements to take. Out of all the possible people you could seek out to provide that information, wouldn't it seem pretty obvious not to go to the guy who masterminded the BALCO scandal and went to jail as a result? Apparently not. Current boxing champs and an MLB outfielder are on the record saying they're using Victor Conte's products. I'm not saying Conte is still committing criminal acts - in fact, let's assume he isn't. It still astounds me anyone is willing to trust him to give them stuff to put in their bodies when their career depends on staying clean.

This weekend should be a lot of fun. Have a good one and I'll see you back here Monday.