Flashback to 2011

Remember when LSU was ranked #1 in the country and Alabama #2? That game was also in Tuscaloosa and the Tigers won the defensive war 9-6 in overtime. In the end, these two teams faced each other again in the National Championship with Alabama destroying the Tigers 21-0. Talk about defense, this year's matchup should be a good one with Alabama's front line all having first-round NFL potential against Leonard Fournette, the front-runner for the Heisman. Who will come out on top? Gueax Tigers! Check out the trailer below to get pumped!!!!
- #2 LSU at #4 Alabama, 8 ET, CBS
- #16 Florida State at #1 Clemson, 3:30 ET, ABC
- #8 TCU at #14 Oklahoma State, 3:30 ET, FOX
- Navy at #13 Memphis, 7 ET, ESPN2
- #12 Utah at Washington, 7:30 ET, FOX

In the MLB we have a surprising turn of events in the nation's capital. So you know how Bud Black was supposed to be manager of the Nationals? Well we have a false alarm here, folks! The Nationals apparently offered him a one-year job but Buddy wanted more. So the Nationals backed out. Now Dusty Baker is in as Manager of a currently dysfunctional Nationals team that many were predicting to win the world series this year. As for Bud, he is one of around 10 candidates to contend for the job in Los Angeles for the Dodgers. Padres bench coach Dave Roberts is also being considered for the job there too. This is the final vacancy for a managerial position in the bigs. Speaking of Padres coaches, now that Andy Green has been hired, he is considering which coaches from last year to keep and which to let go. Roberts' contract expired at the end of the world series as did most of the coaches on the Padres' staff. Pitching coach Darren Balsley and third base coach Glenn Hoffman have both returned and hitting coach Mark Kotsay still has one season left on his contract, but other than that, everybody else is up in the air. Perhaps we will see a change to try and get this team to perform again until new leadership and hopefully a new vibe in the dugout. Only three and a half months until spring training begins! Just a side note as well, the Royals have won the world series! "Go crazy, folks!" Their first title since 1985 brings other teams' fans to their knees begging for a title...like us lowly Padres fans. When will we get one? Anyways, The Mets totally imploded. Well, the Mets didn't - but Jeurys Familia did! He blew three saves in the world series alone, a new record. Next year, look to see the Mets contend again with the Nationals and Cubs biting at their heels. Who cares that Vegas says the Dodgers will win it all next year, that's Vegas!

The NFL continues to excite fans all across the world. Although there were many injuries to star players across the league on Sunday such as: Calvin Johnson (calf), LeVeon Bell (ACL), Keenan Allen (Kidney) and many others. The Chargers are perhaps the worst in shape when it comes to injury as 12 players had to leave the game against the Ravens on Sunday with injuries. In fact, just yesterday the team signed 13 players and promoted several players from the practice squad to the active roster. With all these injuries, the Chargers are limping into their bye week next week following Monday at home against the Bears. In terms of overall league performances, however, The NFL has some really bright spots such as the Panthers. This team is still undefeated heading into their date with the Packers this Sunday. Speaking of the Packers, they fell to the Broncos on Sunday night football as Peyton Manning took control. The Broncos' defense is perhaps the best in the league. It is tough to find a better one right now. As they head into Indianapolis, Peyton has the opportunity to pass Brett Favre's all-time wins record and all-time touchdown record. And Manning only needs 200 yards or so to be the sole leader in career yards as well. This is exciting because Manning has spent the majority of his career in a Colts jersey.

In the NBA, let's not all be surprised as to who is at the top of each respective conference. Check out the standings thus far in the year:

Eastern Conference

	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF	PPG	OPP PPG	DIFF	STRK	L10
1Toronto Raptors	5	0	1.000	-	2-0	3-0	1-0	3-0	106.0	95.6	+10.4	W5	5-0
2Atlanta Hawks	5	1	.833	0.5	2-1	3-0	3-0	5-1	99.3	95.3	+4.0	W5	5-1
3Cleveland Cavaliers	4	1	.800	1	2-0	2-1	0-1	3-1	101.2	90.2	+11.0	W4	4-1
4Detroit Pistons	3	1	.750	1.5	2-1	1-0	1-1	2-1	94.5	92.3	+2.2	L1	3-1
5Washington Wizards	3	1	.750	1.5	1-1	2-0	1-0	2-1	104.5	104.0	+0.5	W1	3-1
6Chicago Bulls	4	2	.667	1.5	3-0	1-2	1-1	3-2	101.2	101.3	-0.2	W1	4-2
7Miami Heat	3	2	.600	2	2-1	1-1	1-1	1-2	98.6	93.4	+5.2	W1	3-2
8New York Knicks	2	3	.400	3	0-2	2-1	0-0	2-2	102.0	101.8	+0.2	L2	2-3
Indiana Pacers	2	3	.400	3	1-2	1-1	1-0	2-1	94.4	99.0	-4.6	W2	2-3
Milwaukee Bucks	2	3	.400	3	1-2	1-1	0-0	2-3	98.2	105.8	-7.6	W2	2-3
Charlotte Hornets	2	3	.400	3	1-1	1-2	0-3	1-3	103.6	98.8	+4.8	W2	2-3
Boston Celtics	1	3	.250	3.5	1-2	0-1	1-1	1-2	100.0	100.8	-0.8	L3	1-3
Orlando Magic	1	4	.200	4	0-2	1-2	0-1	0-2	105.4	106.4	-1.0	L1	1-4
Philadelphia 76ers	0	4	.000	4.5	0-2	0-2	0-1	0-3	88.3	102.3	-14.0	L4	0-4
Brooklyn Nets	0	5	.000	5	0-2	0-3	0-0	0-3	89.8	104.4	-14.6	L5	0-5

Western Conference

	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF	PPG	OPP PPG	DIFF	STRK	L10
1Golden State Warriors	5	0	1.000	-	3-0	2-0	1-0	5-0	117.6	96.8	+20.8	W5	5-0
2Los Angeles Clippers	4	1	.800	1	3-0	1-1	3-1	4-1	107.8	101.8	+6.0	L1	4-1
3Portland Trail Blazers	4	2	.667	1.5	2-1	2-1	2-0	4-2	103.8	99.0	+4.8	W3	4-2
4San Antonio Spurs	3	2	.600	2	1-0	2-2	0-0	0-1	99.2	92.0	+7.2	L1	3-2
5Phoenix Suns	3	2	.600	2	2-1	1-1	1-1	3-2	104.0	98.4	+5.6	W1	3-2
6Utah Jazz	3	2	.600	2	0-1	3-1	1-1	1-1	94.2	86.2	+8.0	W1	3-2
7Oklahoma City Thunder	3	3	.500	2.5	2-1	1-2	1-0	2-1	111.5	108.7	+2.8	L3	3-3
8Memphis Grizzlies	3	3	.500	2.5	1-1	2-2	0-0	1-2	92.8	103.8	-11.0	L1	3-3
Minnesota Timberwolves	2	2	.500	2.5	0-2	2-0	1-1	2-1	98.0	97.8	+0.2	L2	2-2
Denver Nuggets	2	3	.400	3	0-2	2-1	0-3	2-3	96.0	100.4	-4.4	L1	2-3
Dallas Mavericks	2	3	.400	3	0-2	2-1	0-0	2-1	97.4	100.4	-3.0	L2	2-3
Houston Rockets	2	3	.400	3	2-2	0-1	0-0	1-2	99.0	109.0	-10.0	W2	2-3
Sacramento Kings	1	4	.200	4	1-2	0-2	1-3	1-4	106.2	112.0	-5.8	L3	1-4
Los Angeles Lakers	0	4	.000	4.5	0-3	0-1	0-1	0-4	106.8	116.8	-10.0	L4	0-4
New Orleans Pelicans	0	4	.000	4.5	0-2	0-2	0-0	0-3	100.8	115.0	-14.2	L4	0-4

Standings are updated with the completion of each game.
It has only been five games into the season, but if a team falls behind this quickly, catching up throughout the rest of the year will sure be difficult. It's like school grades. If you fail the first test, then it will be difficult to catch up by the end of the year. Now teams have 77 games left to catch up. Who will be in front when all is said and done? That is still months away from now, but it is safe to assume that the current top four teams will be in by the end of the year.

That should do it for this week! Feel free to comment on any part that you would like to see improving or on what team/sport you would like to be discussed. Have a great week!