Quick Hits: Olympics, BYU football, USU football, and More

Some werid Olympic storylines, debate over the Redeem teams place in history, and a glance at college football...

IOC Looking Into Age of Chinese Gymnasts - Why? One thing that we learned about the IOC during the Olympics in Salt Lake City, they are a two-faced self-serving organization. They only care about making money. They perform actions that are dubious, and wrong. Only to follow up by trying to condemn those who they encouraged to perform the wrong acts. At the beginning of the competition it was obvious that the Chinese gymnasts were under aged. It didn't take a brilliant person to know. In fact, all you had to do is look at them and you could tell they weren't close to 15/16 they were required to be.Yet, when doubts were raised, by a CHINESE newspaper, the IOC said they wouldn't do anything. Why? The gymnasts had passport claiming their age to be correct to compete. That was good enough for the IOC. They were looking for a way to allow the Chinese to compete in their own Olympics. What a nightmare it would have been to disqualify the home team right before the competition. The IOC made their bed, they were more concerned with the Olympics being successful for the Chinese. They didn't care if they cheated or not, they were more concerned with making money. They have once again reversed themselves, now that all gymnastic competitions are over and there is no more money to be made. With no money on the table the IOC wants to take the high road, and start enforcing the rules. Will anything come of this investigation? You never know with the Olympic Committee. Yet, they have proven themselves once again to be scumbags. Although, would it really be an Olympics without a scandal?

USA Basketball:Where the Redeem Team Ranks All Time - The United States beat the Argentina national team and is looking like a sure winner of the gold medal. Spain is waiting for them in the gold medal round, and could still challenge them. Despite losing to the US team in a blowout during pool play. The US did catch a lucky break with Manu Ginobili getting injured early in the first quarter. The US allowed Argentina to catch up in the second quarter, and with Manu the Argentines might have made a game of it. Yet, they didn't have enough fire power to compete with the US team. The Redeem has been great throughout the Olympic tournament. So, where do they rank all time. I have all ready gone on record (surprisingly in front of a slew of media reports on this topic) that the Dream team would beat the Redeem team. I don't think it would be a contest, the Dream team, in the words of Patrick Ewing, "would kick their butts." So the Redeem team must be the second best all time...not so fast. The 1996 team was very good also, and head-to-head would give the Redeem team fits also. It would be a much closer game, but the 1996 team would beat the Redeem team by single digits. Here is how I would rank the teams since 1992:

1. The Dream Team (1992)
2. 1996 Olympic Team (called Dream Team II, but come on there is only one Dream Team)
3. The Redeem Team (2008)
4. 2000 Olympic Team
5. 2004 The LeBRONZE Team

BYU Football: Relax About Preseason Comments - BYU fans are upset because Kirk Herbstreit took a shot at BYU. He may have a point. Teams should be elevated above each other when everyone has a record of 0-0. If that was his point, then he was valid in saying it. Herbstreit though wasn't saying that the preseason hype should be thrown out for all teams, just non-BCS teams. Preseason poles and speculation is okay for the BCS conferences, because they have been given the title of a "BCS conference." There is only one conclusion, Herbstreit is a closet member of the IOC. Overall it might be a really good thing Herbstreit is talking down BYU chances this season. With all the positive press BYU has received, it is nice to get some bulletin board material.

USU Football: Don't Sleep on the Aggies - It is amazing how everyone is assuming that the Aggies will be terrible again this year. ESPN.com putting them in the preseason bottom ten again this year. This is the year that the Aggies put it together. Coach guy has been making the correct decisions on how to rebuild this team. Although the record might not show it, this team is in much better shape now than when Coach Guy took over. There is a vision of where this team wants to go. They now have talent at skill positions, and they were able to taste victories at the end of last season. Winning at the end of last season was a huge boast for this team. The Aggies suffered three close losses in there first four game. With sports small things make big differences. A few unlucky bounces and the Aggies lose, a few lucky bounces and they would have started the season 3-1. A big reason they didn't get the lucky bounces earlier in the season was because they weren't looking for them. Mentality in sports is huge, and if you aren't looking for game changing opportunities they will pass you by when they present themselves. With the taste of winning two games last season fresh in their minds look for the Aggies to build on that this season. The goal for the Aggies should be to make it to bowl eligibility. (Aim high) Looking at the schedule here is how their games will break down.

Could win games/Must win games if they want bowl eligibility-
At UNLV, Idaho, At San Jose State, At Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State
These are five games they would have to win to have a shot at hitting six wins. They were in every game last year against these teams, and should be in every game this year.

Tough win games/Need at least one of these to get bowl eligible-
At Nevada, Fresno State, Hawaii
These are the better teams in conference, but Nevada should be the best chance to get a win. Yet, Fresno State and Hawaii at home should also be a good opportunity to get an impressive win.

Marque win games/A win in these games would really make this an impressive season-
At #21 Oregon, Utah, #16 BYU, at Boise State
I know that Fresno State is getting more pub than Boise State in the preseason, but I except the Broncos to be more of challenge on the road. The Aggies do get both in-state rivals at home this year, which gives them a chance; however, regardless of the situation a victory over either BYU/Utah would be big for the Aggies. Also a win over #21 Oregon would be a huge leap forward for the program. These four games would really be a shot in the arm for the Aggies.

Utah Jazz: A Quick Glance Forward to the Post Olympic Jazz - It is going to be interesting to see how the Jazz react after their Olympic experiences. AK and Booz's experiences are not looking too good. Boozer never got off the bench, and that will put pressure on him to establish that he is one of the elite players in the league. Something that would lead to selfish basketball, or the Jazz offense equivalent of the black death. The team is built on team work, one player demanding the ball hurts the team as a whole. It would also negatively affect Andrei Kirilenko. AK is coming off a poor Olympic performance, and could really self-destruct in the wrong environment. Being excluded from the offense due to selfish play is the recipe for disaster with AK. Williams strong performance could also be an issue. D-Will has been a key player for the US team. He has taken more steps to establish himself next to Chris Paul as the elite point guards in the NBA. His positive performance and Boozer's negative could affect team chemistry in the locker room were both have been leaders in the past. Add to the mix that Memhet Okur intentionally sat out the Olympics to improve his game, and that leads to another conflict that could affect chemistry if he doesn't get the offensive touches he warrants. This is complete speculation, and this maybe completely baseless; however, these are storylines that will be interesting to watch as the Jazz prepare for the upcoming season.