While the Cowboys' signing of Terrell Owens will hog the headlines, the signing of K Mike Vanderjagt is a much better signing. Although his extremely wide right miss in last year's playoffs is fresh in everyone's memory, Vandy's still one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history. And while is may not be the perfect teammate (but then again was what he said about Peyton Manning a couple of years ago worse than what Manning said about his offensive line after the loss to the Steelers in the playoffs?), I'm pretty sure we will not be seeing Vanderjagt getting suspedned during the middle of the season.

For a Duke fan like myself, nothing sums it up better than the headline on the www.dukebasketballreport.com website: "Well, that Sucked..." As great a player as J.J. Redick has been for Duke these past four years, he has been far from a great tournament player for the Blue Devils. That's why I cannot rank him ahead of Dukies like Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Jason Williams and Shane Battier. Well, now I can focus on my brackets, hopefully win some money and root for ABC- Anyone but Conneticut!!

Did Northern Iowa's Greg McDermott accept the Iowa State job too quickly? If Steve Alford goes to Missouri (Why?) then McDermott could have been a contender for the University of Iowa opening.

While this is clearly the time of college basketball, it has been a busy off-season for the NFL. With Dante Culpepper being traded to the Dolphins, it means that Drew Brees will probably sign with the Saints. If Drew Brees does sign with the Saints, that will have major reprecussions on the NFL Draft. The Saints will not need a QB and will either trade the #2 pick or draft someone other than Matt Leinert. If Matt Leinert does not go with the #2 pick, then he will probably go to Tennessee with the #3 pick, whom many assumed who be drafting Vince Young. In that case which team drafts Vince Young? The Jets? The Raiders? Or maybe the Dolphins as insurance in case Culpepper is not fully recovered from injury.

Not only will the Big East Conference get 7 or 8 bids to the NCAA tournament, but a former Big East member, Boston College, will be playing for the ACC tournament championship. While the majority of the state of North Carolina (Wake Forest, NC State and UNC fans) would usually be rooting agaisnt DUKE in today's championship game, I bet that alot of old-liners and tradionalists would not be happy with a newcomer, especially one from the Big East, winning the ACC tournament.

At this time of year, the top 25 is not as important as automatic bids and RPIs. For example Michigan State is out of my top 25 but that team is more than capable of making run into the Sweet Sixteen if not better.

1. UConn- despite a close game with Louisville, the best team in the nation.
2. Villanova
3. DUKE- better right the ship quick.
4. Memphis
5. Texas- playing for a possible #1 seed
6. Ohio State- a Big Ten Tournament chanpionship could translate into a #1 seed
7. Gonzaga
8. George Washington- got lucky agasint Charlotte
9. Illinois- like UNC, much better than anyone expected them to be.
10. UNC- Tyler Hansbrough is an incredible freshmen!
11. Pittsburgh
12. Tennessee- Bruce Pearl is the Coach of the year!
13. Boston College- best Jesuit team in the land!
14. Washington
15. UCLA
16. West Virginia
17. Kansas- here's hoping for a Kansas- Illinois match-up in the tournament
18. Florida- anyone who beats Kentucky is okay with me!
19. Georgetown
20. LSU
21. Oklahoma
22. N.C. State
23. Iowa
24. Nevada
25. Marquette

Congrats to the Florida State basketball team for defeating Duke tonight (although Fla. State may have the dumbest fans in the ACC despite some of the hottest co-eds!). The Seminoles should make the NCAA tournament and UConn should move into the No.1 position in the polls. Now on to more important things for the Blue Devils- GO to Hell, Carolina, Go to Hell!!!

In case you were wondering, the Sports Illustrated 2006 Swimsuit Issue will be hitting the newstands, and your mailboxes, in the near future!

THE POWER OF BRENT MUSBURGER!!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/sioncampus/02/09/cowgirl.fsu/index.html
I remember watching this game and recall being at least a little surprised by Musberger's comment. Althought I was in complete agreement with the sentiment.

Now Mike Martz has accepted the offensive coordinator job with the Detroit Lions!!
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2323226

Following up on a previous K-Line post, Dennis Erickson has accepted the head coaching position with the University of Idaho. Go Vandals!!
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2323160

The Great One's wife, Janet Jones Gretzky, is being linked to a gambling scandal that is sure to heap bad press to the NHL (for those of you that realize the NHL is still in existence after last season's lockout). Reason enough to add a picture of Janet Jones.

This story will not interest most of you, but I was very surprised to read that former NFL coach Dennis Erickson may return to coach the University of Idaho Vandals!
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2323160

The new Monday Night Football line-up. While I am looking forward to Tony Kornheiser being part of the announcing team, do we really need two female sideline reporters during a football game? http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2323121

It is time for this week's college basketball top twenty-five. The top three stay the same, while Louisville (now officially a "bubble team"), Wisconsin and Syracuse all drop out of the top twenty-five.
1. UConn
2. Duke
3. Memphis
4. Villanova
5. Illinois
6. Gonzaga
7. Texas
8. Pittsburgh
9. Florida
10. West Virginia
11. Michigan State
12. N.C. State
13. George Washington
14. UCLA
15. Boston College
16. Washington
17. Ohio State
18. Georgetown
19. Indiana
20. Tennessee
21. Oklahoma
22. Bucknell
23. Northern Iowa
24. Iowa
25. Colorado
UNC
UAB

Chris Penn found dead in his home. A couple of weeks ago I saw an episode of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" which starred Chris Penn. He looked awful. I would rather rememeber him from "Footloose," "All the Right Moves," and "Reservior Dogs."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060125/people_nm/penn_dc

Michael Alexrod decides not to sue Antonio Davis and his wife.
http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/9183649

Will Kobe score 100? http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/gamecenter/recap/NBA_20060122_TOR@LAL

And then there were none. The last 3 remaining undefeated Division I college basketball teams all lost on Saturday. So it's time for a new K-Line college basketball top 25:
1. UConn
2. Duke
3. Memphis
4. Texas
5. Florida
6. Villanova
7. Illinois
8. West Virginia
9. Gonzaga
10. Michigan State
11. Pittsburgh
12. Indiana
13. Washington
14. N.C. State
15. George Washington
16. Wisconsin
17. Ohio State
18. Louisville
19. UCLA
20. Boston College
21. Syracuse
22. Georgetown
23. Maryland
24. Oklahoma
25. Tennessee
25. UNC

Congrats to the Georgetown Hoyas (and of course, my friend, Pete) for defeating #1 ranked and previously undefeated Duke. Georgetown employed a key element in defeating Duke- double team Sheldon Williams. Williams is awful at passing out of the double-team and will pick up fouls out of frustration. Go ahead and let JJ Redick (who in my opinion solidified his status as the leading contender for Player of the Year despite the loss) score 40, as long as Williams scores about 5, you got a good chance at beating Duke.