Lakers starting to show signs of life

It may be too early to tell, but that well publicized team meeting the Lakers held last week may be starting to pay dividends after all. Judging from Friday nights victory over a solid Utah Jazz club and Sunday afternoons impressive win over the league leading Oklahoma City Thunder, the Lakers may be putting their season back together. The hallmark of these two victories has been the facillitating of one Kobe Bryant. Each victory had Kobe notching 14 assists and falling one rebound shy of a triple double. The ball movement and teamwork has been noticeable in these two wins and this could be the blueprint for the rest of the season. Whether its a case of too little too late remains to be seen, but if Kobe and the Lakers can sustain this level of play, they could very well sneak back into the playoff picture. Once in the playoffs, they would certainly be a dangerous team that nobody would want to play.

Initial BCS Standings released

BCS standings

1. Alabama .9761
2. Florida .9092
3. Oregon .8993
4. Kansas St. .8963
5. Notre Dame .8774
6. LSU .7522
7. South Carolina .6930
8. Oregon St. .6808
9. Oklahoma .6664
10. Southern Cal .5959
11. Georgia .4980
12. Mississippi St. .4846
13. West Virginia .4793
14. Florida St. .4277
15. Rutgers .4083
16. Louisville .4061
17. Texas Tech .3572
18. Texas A&M .3379
19. Clemson .3341
20. Stanford .2654
21. Cincinnati .2483
22. Boise St.. 1978
23. TCU .1377
24. Iowa St. 1139
25. Texas. 0640

Week 7 College Football Rankings

AP Poll
Record; Points; Previous

1. Alabama (60); 6-0; 1,500; 1
2. Oregon 6-0; 1,436; 2
3. Florida;6-0; 1,361; 4
4. Kansas State 6-0; 1,296; 6
5. Notre Dame 6-0; 1,283; 7
6. LSU 6-1; 1,153; 9
7. Ohio State 7-0; 1,071; 8
8. Oregon State 5-0; 1,050; 10
9. South Carolina 6-1; 1,042; 3
10. Oklahoma 4-1; 994; 13
11. Southern Cal 5-1; 874; 11
12. Florida State 6-1; 836; 12
13. Georgia 5-1; 753; 14
14. Clemson 5-1; 673; 16
15. Mississippi State 6-0; 591; 19
16. Louisville 6-0; 574; 18
17. West Virginia 5-1; 552; 5
18. Texas Tech 5-1; 444; NR
19. Rutgers 6-0; 405; 20
20. Texas A&M;5-1;379;22
21. Cincinnati 5-0; 294; 21
22. Stanford 4-2; 242; 17
23. Michigan 4-2; 177; 25
24. Boise State 5-1; 133; 24
25. Ohio 7-0; 104; NR
Others receiving votes: Arizona State 92, TCU 88, Louisiana Tech 38, Texas 25, N.C. State 11, Northwestern 6, Washington 6, Wisconsin 6, Nebraska 4, North Carolina 2, Tulsa 2, Arizona 1, Iowa State 1, Penn State 1.



Coaches Poll
Record; Points; Previous

1. Alabama (59) 6-0; 1,475; 1
2. Oregon 6-0; 1,414; 2
3. Kansas State 6-0; 1,307; 5
4. Florida 6-0; 1,297; 6
5. Notre Dame 6-0; 1,251; 7
6. LSU 6-1; 1,179; 8
7. Oklahoma 4-1; 1,021; 10
8. South Carolina 6-1; 1,012; 3
9. Southern Cal 5-1; 995; 9
10. Florida State 6-1; 919; 11
11. Oregon State 5-0; 839; 14
12. Georgia 5-1; 806; 12
13. Clemson 5-1; 741; 13
14. Louisville 6-0; 695; 16
15. West Virginia 5-1; 677; 4
16. Mississippi State 6-0; 671; 18
17. Rutgers 6-0; 495; 19
18. Cincinnati 5-0; 456; 20
19. Texas A&M 5-1; 397; 21
20. Texas Tech 5-1; 274; NR
21. TCU 5-1; 272; 23
22. Boise State 5-1; 271; 22
23. Stanford 4-2; 215; 17
24. Arizona State 5-1; 133; NR
25. Michigan 4-2; 96; NR
Others receiving votes: Northwestern 77, Ohio 54, Texas 54, Louisiana Tech 24, Wisconsin 16, Nebraska 10, Nevada 7, Oklahoma State 6, Western Kentucky 6, Iowa State 5, Louisiana-Monroe 2, Northern Illinois 2, Toledo 2, Tulsa 1, UCLA 1.

Week 5 College Football Rankings

And what a week it was.... the ridiculous West Virginia/Baylor shootout...... the thrilling Cincinnati last second win over Virginia Tech, just to name a few.... following this week's action, here are the new rankings...

AP Rankings
Record; Points; Previous

1. Alabama (60); 5-0; 1,500; 1
2. Oregon; 5-0; 1,430; 2
3. Florida State; 5-0; 1,349; 4
4. LSU; 5-0; 1,310; 3
5. Georgia; 5-0; 1,252; 5
6. South Carolina; 5-0; 1,152; 6
7. Kansas State; 4-0; 1,123; 7
8. West Virginia; 4-0; 1,066; 9
9. Notre Dame; 4-0; 1,043; 10
10. Florida; 4-0; 937; 11
11. Texas; 4-0; 932; 12
12. Ohio State; 5-0; 793; 14
13. Southern Cal; 3-1; 703; 13
14. Oregon State; 3-0; 647; 18
15. Clemson; 4-1; 608; 17
15. TCU; 4-0; 608; 15
17. Oklahoma; 2-1; 581; 16
18. Stanford; 3-1; 509; 8
19. Louisville; 5-0; 404; 19
20. Mississippi State; 4-0; 306; 21
21. Nebraska; 4-1; 240; 22
22. Rutgers; 4-0; 160; 23
23. Washington; 3-1; 159; NR
24. Northwestern; 5-0; 143; NR
25. UCLA; 4-1; 122; NR
Others receiving votes: Cincinnati 72, Boise St. 53, Texas A&M 51, Michigan St. 43, Texas Tech 39, Michigan 38, Louisiana Tech 37, Baylor 31, Ohio 30, Arizona St. 15, Arizona 4, Miami 4, Iowa St. 3, Tennessee 3.  

USA Today/Coaches Poll
Record; Points; Previous
1. Alabama (57); 5-0; 1,472; 1
2. Oregon; 5-0; 1,403; 2
3. LSU (1); 5-0; 1,327; 3
4. Florida State (1); 5-0; 1,301; 4
5. Georgia; 5-0; 1,227; 5
6. South Carolina; 5-0; 1,161; 6
7. West Virginia; 4-0; 1,137; 7
8. Kansas State; 4-0; 1,050; 8
9. Texas; 4-0; 981; 10
10. Notre Dame; 4-0; 915; 11
11. Florida; 4-0; 883; 12
12. USC; 3-1; 784; 13
13. TCU; 4-0; 749; 14
14. Oklahoma; 2-1; 684; 15
15. Clemson; 4-1; 626; 16
16. Louisville; 5-0; 524; 17
17. Oregon State; 3-0; 453; 21
18. Stanford; 3-1; 452; 9
19. Mississippi State; 4-0; 422; 19
20. Nebraska; 4-1; 415; 20
21. Rutgers; 4-0; 206; 25
22. Northwestern; 5-0; 202; NR
23. Cincinnati; 3-0; 175; NR
24. Texas Tech; 4-0; 108; NR
25. Boise State; 3-1; 83; NR
Others receiving votes: Washington 65; Texas A&M 61; UCLA 58; Louisiana Tech 56; Michigan State 45; Baylor 41; Arizona State 40; Miami (Fla.) 17; Michigan 11; Ohio 11; Louisiana-Monroe 8; Purdue 6; Wisconsin 6; San Jose State 4; Oklahoma State 3; Toledo 1; Tulsa 1; Virginia Tech 1.

Week 3 College Football Rankings

AP Poll
Record, Points, Previous
1. Alabama (58), 3-0, 1,498, 1
2. LSU (2), 3-0, 1, 433, 3
3. Oregon, 3-0, 1,356, 4
4. Florida State, 3-0, 1,275, 5
5. Georgia, 3-0, 1,203, 7
6. Oklahoma, 2-0, 1,181, 5
7. South Carolina, 3-0, 1,081, 8
8. West Virginia, 2-0, 1,051, 9
9. Stanford, 3-0, 1,009, 21
10. Clemson, 3-0, 899, 11
11. Notre Dame, 3-0, 854, 20
12. Texas, 3-0, 816, 14
13. Southern California, 2-1, 776, 2
14. Florida, 3-0, 743, 18
15. Kansas State, 3-0, 683, 15
16. Ohio State, 3-0, 680, 12
17. TCU, 2-0, 535, 16
18. Michigan, 2-1, 448, 17
19. UCLA , 3-0, 429, 22
20. Louisville, 3-0, 366, 19
21. Michigan State, 2-1, 318, 10
22. Arizona, 3-0, 296, 24
23. Mississippi State, 3-0, 106, NR
24. Boise State, 1-1, 95, NR
25. Nebraska, 2-1, 80, NR
*Others receiving votes: Oregon State 68, Baylor 55, Northwestern 41, Ohio 20, Oklahoma State 19, Rutgers 19, Iowa State 15, Virginia Tech 13, Cincinnati 9, Tennessee 6, Texas Tech 5, Wisconsin 5, Missouri 4, Texas A&M 4, Georgia Tech 3, Fresno State 2, Utah 1.


Coaches Poll
Record, Points, Previous
1. Alabama (54), 3-0, 1,470, 1
2. LSU (5), 3-0, 1,411, 2
3. Oregon, 3-0, 1,339, 4
4. Florida State, 3-0, 1,240, 6
5. Oklahoma, 2-0, 1,201, 5
6. Georgia, 3-0, 1,150, 7
7. West Virginia, 2-0, 1,114, 8
8. South Carolina, 3-0, 1,071, 9
9. Clemson, 3-0, 955, 11
10. Texas, 3-0, 869, 12
11. Stanford, 3-0, 868, 16
12. Southern California, 2-1, 779, 3
13. Kansas State, 3-0, 767, 14
14. Florida, 3-0, 689, 17
15. Notre Dame, 3-0, 681, 19
16. TCU, 2-0, 675, 15
17. Michigan, 2-1, 507, 18
18. Louisville, 3-0, 434, 20
19. UCLA, 3-0, 375, 23
20. Michigan State, 2-1, 354, 10
21. Arizona, 3-0, 296, 25
22. Nebraska, 2-1, 194, 24
23. Mississippi State, 3-0, 99, NR
24. Wisconsin, 2-1, 97, 22
25. Oklahoma State, 2-1, 73, NR
*Others receiving votes: Virginia Tech 71; Boise State 70; Baylor 54; Cincinnati 39; Northwestern 33; Iowa State 29; Rutgers 29; Oregon State 24; Georgia Tech 20; Louisiana Tech 18; Missouri 18; Texas Tech 15; Brigham Young 8; Texas A&M 7; Tennessee 6; Utah 6; Arizona State 5; Ohio 5; Louisiana-Monroe 4; Western Kentucky 3; Washington 2; San Jose State 1.

Final Four - Rematches of sport's blue bloods

Two games. Two rematches. All four teams amongst the elite of college basketball. One Final Four repeat is between Kentucky and Louisville, teams that know each other all too well. The other has Kansas facing Ohio State, teams that had more or less been strangers until this season.

Earlier in the season, Kentucky beat Louisville 69-62, handing a loss to Rick Pitino, the coach who once led the Wildcats, but left for the NBA, only to return down the road to lead their in-state rivals. Kansas defeated Ohio State 78-67 in a game the Buckeyes played without their star, forward Jared Sullinger.

The stakes are higher this time. The winners of Saturday's semifinals will play for the national title next Monday. Absent from this year's final hoops weekend, taking place at the Superdome in New Orleans, are the longshots and little guys who have made March Madness so special over the years. Although there are no Butlers, VCUs or George Masons, there are plenty of good stories to tell. That list starts with Pitino vs. his old school. In the other semifinal, Sullinger got what he wanted when he decided to return to Ohio State for his sophomore year — a trip to the Final Four. The Buckeyes are early 2.5-point picks over Kansas in the matchup of No. 2 seeds.

Week 5 College Football Rankings

AP Top 25

1. LSU

2. Oklahoma

3. Alabama

4. Boise State

5. Oklahoma State

6. Stanford

7. Wisconsin

8. Nebraska

9. Oregon

10. South Carolina

11. Virginia Tech

12. Florida

13. Clemson

14. Texas A&M

15. Baylor

16. South Florida

17. Texas

18. Arkansas

19. Michigan

20. TCU

21. Georgia Tech

22. West Virginia

23. Florida State

24. Illinois

25. Arizona State

Coaches Poll

1. Oklahoma

t-2. LSU

t-2. Alabama

4. Stanford

5. Boise State

6. Oklahoma State

7. Wisconsin

8. Nebraska

9. South Carolina

10. Virginia Tech

11. Oregon

12. Florida

13. Texas A&M

14. South Florida

15. Clemson

16. Baylor

17. Texas

18. Arkansas

19. Michigan

20. TCU

21. Georgia Tech

22. Illinois

23. West Virginia

24. Florida State

25. Michigan State