I had lunch with my new boss yesterday at T.J. Mulligans. The place was packed with folks there to watch the U.S.A.'s opening game against the Czech Republic. Or maybe they were there to enjoy the tots.

I watched the game... I tried to get into it... I told myself maybe I have never given soccer a fair chance... after all, I don't allow my two-year old to tell me she doesn't like something unless she tries it. So I watched it.

Sorry, I just don't get it.

My patriotism & love for my country had me rooting for the Red, White & Blue, but that was about it. My eyes kept moving to a second TV in the placing showing a game in the College Baseball World Series.

I read dozens of newspaper columnists everyday. I am sick of them either apologizing for the fact most Americans don't care for soccer or preaching to us how stupid we are because we don't care for soccer.

I love football. I'm talking American football. High school, college, NFL, pee wee... it is a great game. No apologies here.

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This is not going to be a soccer-bashing day for me. Instead, I saw something on TV last night that made about as much sense as watching a 0-0 tie between two countries I have never heard of... it was the Rock, Paper, Scissors Championship on A&E. After some research I have found there are numerous websites dedicated to the game we used as kids to turn our buddies arms black & blue.

From A&E's website: You probably played rock, paper, scissors when you were a kid, but we bet you never played it for $50,000. That's the big prize that awaits the winner in the Rock Paper Scissors Championship. Bud Light sponsored local competitions in bars throughout the country to find the best players, who advanced to the exciting national finals in Las Vegas. This special captures all the excitement of the sport, focusing on both the intensity and the insanity as players are eliminated and a victor is crowned. But this isn't just a blood sport, it's also high comedy as the program reveals the history of the game, the finer points of strategy and you the viewer can become a better rock paper scissors player. Dave Attel hosts.

I turned it off last night as I am trying to get myself in practice of going to bed early for my new job. Ummm, yes, I did set my DVR to record it.

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I am not sure if I posted my NBA championship prediction, but I felt from the beginning Dallas would win in six. Holding a 2-0 advantage over Miami, could the Mavericks make it a sweep? I doubt it. The Mavs are giving Shaq fits out there, leaving him unable to take over a game. Dwayne Wade is shooting just 38-percent from the floor & is still looking for his game in the most important seven-game series in his young career.

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Since I have spent most of my adult life making a living from my voice, I do things to take care of it. I don't go to extremes of using gargling with lemon juice or other home remedies, but then again I don't spend my free time screaming "Freebird" at rock concerts or yodeling in the mountains.

You would think professional athletes would know better than to ride motorcycles without helmets. While some may not use it properly, you need your noggin' to play almost any sport (insert soccer joke here).

The latest example is Super Bowl winning QB Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He collided with a car yesterday, breaking his nose & jaw, leaving him in serious but stable condition. He wasn't wearing a helmet. Witnesses say 62-year old Martha Fleishman made a left turn in her Chrysler New Yorker & struck Big Ben's black 2005 Suzuki.

Would Roethlisberger ever take one step onto a football field without a helmet? Of course not, with the like of some of the monsters which try to chase him down. So what makes him think he can avoid injury from a car?

Then again, he comes from a long line of athletes that have gotten hurt on a motorcycle:

2006 - Houston return specialist Jerome Mathis injured his hands along with numerous scrapes & bruises, causing him to miss some offseason work.

2005 - Cleveland tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. sustained internal injuries & damage to his right shoulder & right knee, forcing him to miss the season.

2004 - New York Jets cornerback Jamie Henderson missed the entire season while he rehabbed from injuries suffered in an April wreck.

2003 - IRL driver Dario Franchitti broke his back in a motorcycle accident & missed several races, including the Indianapolis 500. Then again, he had Ashley Judd by his side to help him recover.

2003 - Chicago Bulls guard Jason Williams crashed his new motorcycle into a light pole, fracturing his pelvis, tearing knee ligaments & damaging nerves in his left leg.

There's more on this list. Click here to read it all.

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Phil Stukenborg writes in today's Commercial Appeal, University of Memphis football coach Tommy West has a new recruiting pitch: Come to the UofM, and he'll guarantee an opportunity to play on Sunday. Well, at least he can make that promise this season.

The Tigers had a second Sunday game announced by ESPN Monday. The Nov. 4 matchup against CUSA foe Southern Miss has been moved to Nov. 5 & will be shown on the Worldwide Leader in Sports.

Initial reaction was, "Hey, that's up against the NFL!" Upon further review, it will be a night game & will compete against only one professional game. Granted, it's New England versus Indy, but hey, maybe the Pats & Colts will be fighting for cellar-dweller in the AFC by that point in the season.

Ok, maybe not.

Look, ESPN is going to stick someone in that slot so it might as well be Memphis. Believe it or not, there are some folks who don't care much for the pros that might just watch the Black & Blue Bowl. I don't expect local attendance to be hurt either, especially if Memphis is playing well at that point in the season.

This is a good situation for the Tigers. Add the Mississippi game on Sept. 3 (a Sunday) on ESPN, the UT game, also on ESPN, plus a couple of CSTV game, that's not too bad at all.

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Speaking of Memphis football, nice article today in the Jackson Sun on Tommy West & the Tigers' growing "footprint" in west Tennessee.

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Miami punches its ticket to Omaha for the College Baseball World Series after beating Mississippi yesterday, 14-9, in game three of the super regional in Oxford. The Rebels were denied their first trip to to the CWS since 1972.

Does this free up Rebs coach Mike Bianco to talk to LSU about their coaching vacancy? Tigers AD Skip Bertman interviewed Vandy coach TIm Corbin for the position left vacant when Smoke Lavale resigned last week.

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Internet speculation has been running rampant on the status Brent Schaeffer, the expected starting quarterback for the University of Mississippi football team this fall. His mom tells the Clarion-Ledger newspaper that all is well with her son & he will enroll July 3 for the second semester.

Rebels coach Ed Orgeron said last week that Schaeffer was delayed arriving in Oxford because he had yet to graduate from the College of the Sequoias.

If he makes it, Schaeffer will be a junior. He started three games as a freshman at UT in 2004, but was eventually suspended, then transferred after an off-season arrest.

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We've all heard of Arena Football, but I must admit Arena Racing USA is new to me. It seems NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs is investing in the sport. His driver Denny Hamlin of the no. 11 FedEx car is an Arena Racing alum.

The series features half-scale stock car-shaped cars with a 61-inch wheelbase. The cars weigh 725 pounds & come equipped with 390cc Honda engines racing on a one-tenth mile track.

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Major League Baseball suspended relief pitcher Jason Grimsley for 50 games yesterday. Federal agents searched his home last week & allegations came to light he had been receiving packages of HGH at his house. Grimsley was released by the Diamonbacks last week. There is speculation this suspension will prompt an end to his career.

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Bob Huggins officially signed his contract Friday to become head basketball coach at Kansas State. He'll receive a guaranteed compensation of $800k his first three years, with additional money coming from shoe, radio & TV contracts. It's also laced with the usual incentives for wins, sellouts & completing the contract.

KSU can terminate Huggins' new deal if he is convicted of any criminal offense involving fraud, a felony or an act that causes harm to the school's reputation, although it does not discuss specifics or Huggins' past (remember the DUI?).

It sure would be fun to see KSU versus Memphis on the schedule sometime in the near future. Cal versus Huggins again... that's a made for TV event if there ever was one.

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