The NFL may not have been able to script this week’s two divisional championship games if they did it in advance. One game features the Chicago Bears hosting the Green Bay Packers in another renewal of pro football’s oldest rivalry. The other matches Super Bowl savvy Pittsburgh against the team many love to hate – the New York Jets.

Perhaps it is a surprise that all four are still alive ...  read more

And now there are three. Northwestern’s late rally and upset of Iowa last Saturday leaves only a three-way tie atop the league standings. Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State all are 9-1 and 5-1 in Big Ten play with only two weeks of action remaining.

Wisconsin still is the highest rated of the three and carries the highest BCS standing (7th), but the Badgers have new detractors afte ...  read more

The Big Ten football chase continues to be a tale of the Big Four – Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin. And all four are expected to continue their winning ways this season. If that happens it sets an exciting stage for the final two regular weeks of the season.

All four have one league loss, and none of the leaders play each other this Saturday. All four are ranked in the n ...  read more

Planning on purchasing Rose Bowl tickets after the action this week in the Big Ten? Don’t do it. There are too many games involving high-power teams and the chase for the title is still up for grabs. Only unbeaten Michigan State can control its own Big Ten – and maybe BCS destiny after the Spartans came from behind to beat Northwestern and move to 8-0 for the season. Michigan State is ranked 5 ...  read more

There are a number of important games throughout the course of a season. One of them occurs when a team sports a 3-3 SU record and heads into their seventh battle. In order to get to bowl eligibility, a sixth victory is essential. With a majority of schedules sporting 12 games, these .500 clubs need to crank things up a notch. If they fall here and pick up their fourth loss, that means they’ll ...  read more

Five Big Ten games a week ago only produced more new questions than answers. Ohio State continued to roll, but Michigan State took a huge step forward with a convincing victory at Michigan. Northwestern, off to a 5-0 start, fell to Purdue, and then Illinois startled Penn State with a lopsided win at State College.

Four teams are still unblemished in conference play – and this new slate o ...  read more

Back in 1990, the NFL began using a bye-week in order to give teams a break from a lengthy 16-game schedule. The league actually decided to allow for two weeks in the 1993 season but shifted back to the 17-week schedule in 2004 and it has remained the same ever since.

Good sports handicappers always look for a new edge and, thanks to this rest factor, a number of excellent wagering oppor ...  read more

The first week of the NFL can be a difficult one to handicap. Success or failure in the Pre-Season doesn’t always translate into regular season wins and losses. Free agency does a number on team chemistry too. Yesterday’s talent isn’t always the same as todays and there could be growing pains on either side of the ball when a bunch of new personnel is shuffled in or out.

I’ve been gr ...  read more