The match-up we’ve been waiting to see for two weeks is finally here!

Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers versus Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV. The coaches are ready, the players are ready, but the question is, are you ready? Before you answer that, let’s make sure that you’re all caught up on the important events and stories leading up to this game.

“Did You Know: Super Bowl Edition”

1)    Did you know that the majority of the Steelers cannot spell Troy Polamalu’s last name. Crazy, right? What could they possibly be doing with their free time besides learning how to spell his name? It’s like they don’t even care about their fellow teammates. Maybe they should spend a little less time studying the playbook and spend a little more time studying the team roster. As the saying goes, a team that spells together stays together.

2)    Did you know that Aaron Rodgers does not have a Super Bowl ring? I could have sworn that he got one last year, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. According to several credible sources, Rodgers will be aiming to get his first ring today.  I’m still not sure if I believe them, though. He just seems like he would have a Super Bowl ring by now.

3)    Did you know that Ben Roethlisberger took his offensive linemen out to dinner for BBQ on Tuesday night? Turns out Big Ben paid for everything and dropped about $1000 at a piano bar. TMZ even has footage of Benny boy singing Billy Joel’s “Piano Man”. And you thought he couldn’t have any G-rated fun…

4)    Did you know that it’s snowing in Texas right now? I swear to the Super Bowl gods that I’m not making this up. If you don’t believe me then I’m sure you can find maybe one or two tweets about it. I wouldn’t use Google, though. You can’t really trust that site.

5)    Did you know that the Packers first-string running back will not be participating in this game? Seriously. You can Google it. Supposedly he hurt himself or something in the beginning of the year and hasn’t been able to play for a while. I don’t mean to be selfish here, but my fantasy team would have been a lot stronger had someone told me that earlier this season.

6)    Did you know that Brett Keisel has a beard? I, for one, cannot believe that an athlete is allowed to go in public without a clean-shaven face. It might be innocent fun now, but next thing you know it will be a baseball player sporting a beard, or god forbid a hockey player. Let’s just pray that this fad doesn’t catch on.

7)    Did you know that Clay Matthews has long hair? I’m not sure if you guys have heard about this story yet, but it’s pretty wild. Apparently Mr. Matthews has been growing his hair out for quite some time now and has no desire to cut it off. And this might just be a myth, but I’ve even heard that he signed an endorsement deal with a shampoo company. LMFAO. Who does that?

8)    Did you know that Hines Ward dressed up like a cowboy when the team arrived in Texas on Monday? When he got off the plane, he was seen wearing: a black cowboy hat, a black dress shirt (with the top button undone) and a huge belt buckle with the letter ‘S’ in the center. According to my exclusive sources, he even went the whole ten yards and decided to rock some blue jeans as well. Some people will just do anything for attention.

9)    Did you know that brands pay millions of dollars to show their advertisements during the Super Bowl? Why in the world would they do that? They might as well just throw all that money away because it will basically have the same outcome. Put it this way, if Super Bowl commercials were worth the money then all the major brands would be doing it. And the last time I checked, Pop Tarts doesn’t have a Super Bowl commercial. Fact.

10)   Did you know that the Black Eyed Peas are performing at halftime? How unbelievable is that? It doesn’t even matter if the game is close or not, this halftime show will be worth every penny paid. I heard that the ticket prices were reaching the $3,000 mark, so I’d say that’s a fair deal when you consider that they’ll be watching Fergie perform. I just hope they play “Pump It” because that song is off the charts amazing.

And that’s basically all you need to know. So grab a box of Pop Tarts and enjoy your time with your friends and family and remember that the Super Bowl is a lot more than just some silly football game.

Used with permission of the author.

Los Angeles Based Logan Rhoades is the Associate Editor of the website JocksBehindBars.com. With an extensive knowledge of ESPN topics and celebrity gossip, he is known for mixing sports and pop culture. Check out his “Skip to My Logan” blog and Follow him on Twitter @loganrhoades.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

On Sunday, the NFC All-Stars defeated the AFC All-Stars 55-41 in one of the most boring games in football history known as the Pro Bowl. The score may have been high, but the interest most certainly was not.

Most viewers had given up at halftime, when the NFC was up 42-7 in a game no one wanted to make tackles.

This shellacking prompted a Twitter contest to see who could come up with the best line to finish this sentence:

“The Pro Bowl was so bad, I ______”. It was started by sports reporter Darren Rovell and among the thousands of responses here are a few that truly sum up the lack of excitement of the game:

“The Pro Bowl was so bad, I turned on The Real Housewives of Atlanta to see someone get tackled.”

“The Pro Bowl was so bad, I offered to lower my salary to $1 if they would end it.”

“The Pro Bowl was so bad, people were hoping for a lockout just for the rest of this game.”

The AFC All-Stars might have come back in the second half, but it didn’t really matter. The damage was already done and the fans had spoken.

The only time the stadium attendants, and seemingly the players, got energized was when a young kid ran onto the field during a break in action. The crowd noise amplified, the players were literally rolling on the ground laughing, and the viewers at home were left with wonderment as the cameras chose to focus on the reactions to this act, rather than the act itself.

It was at this point that I realized that the NFL Pro Bowl is a complete joke. The honor of making the roster is great, but the game itself is totally unnecessary. Forget the week long vacation in Hawaii, the corny sideline reporting and the cheesy flowered shirts that made some of the commentators look more like beach bums checking out of life. Just give the players the title of a “Pro Bowler” and move on because the football matchup is not worth watching.

The game is sloppy because it’s impossible to have everyone operating under one system in a week’s time when each NFL team has a unique set of plays. The timing is off because the play-calling is different, the routes have changed and the players have changed.

Just imagine the difference between a pass by Drew Brees and Michael Vick or between a route run by Dwayne Bowe and then Wes Welker the very next play. They might be professional athletes, but that doesn’t make them impervious to change.

For instance, the AFC squad had a stretch of five plays that featured three turnovers. They finished the game with six total turnovers, five of which were interceptions. Now you tell me if that sounds like a fun game to watch.

The problem with the Pro Bowl is that the only motivation is money. According to Adam Schefter, “Each player on the winning Pro Bowl team receives $45,000, while each player on the losing team earns $22,500.” Now that may seem like a lot of money, but in pro football terms, that’s pocket change. To put it into perspective, James Harrison would need to win the Pro Bowl twice and get a $10,000 bonus just to pay off his fines from this year.

So the motivation surrounding this game is minimal at best. The players care, to a certain degree, but that’s just because they’re competitive at heart. What they really care about is their health and making sure that the training staff never has to come on the field. With the hard hits and explosiveness removed, due to the fear of an injury, the Pro Bowl becomes a glorified flag football game. Sure, it’s cool to see Matt Ryan complete a pass to Larry Fitzgerald, but if the secondary is operating at half-speed, who really cares? The answer is simple: no one does, not even the players.

So until the time comes when the game actually means something, it will never be worth watching. Maybe Roger Goodell should take some cues from Bud Selig when it comes to this matter. The MLB All-Star game might be lopsided, but at least it matters.

Used with permission of the author.

Los Angeles Based Logan Rhoades is the Associate Editor of the website JocksBehindBars.com. With an extensive knowledge of ESPN topics and celebrity gossip, he is known for mixing sports and pop culture. Check out his “Skip to My Logan” blog and Follow him on Twitter @loganrhoades.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

By now everyone knows that Andrew Luck has decided to stay at Stanford and finish his collegiate career with a degree and that his coach Jim Harbaugh has moved on to coach the NFL San Francisco 49ers. Although it shocked the majority of fans, coaches and teams, it probably was the best decision Luck will ever make.

Luck’s decision to stay at Stanford reminded us all of the true meaning of the title: ‘student-athlete’. These kids are in school to get an education and a college degree and sometimes it’s easy to forget that.

The majority of them get scholarships to play for their school, but of that majority, only a small minority actually turns that into a profession and a career. The problem is that an even smaller amount of them realize it.

They see and hear about the top dollar contracts and the big name endorsements and they want it… now.  And with everyone telling them to do leave for the pros and a mansion and Bentley in the horizon, can you blame them?

College stars are like Hollywood celebrities without the paycheck. Sure, they get basically every thing covered from tuition to clothing, but so does the backup punter on the full-scholarship. The big name college athletes are just that—big names. They get the same benefits as the rest of the players, but their name alone brings in millions of dollars to the university. Don’t believe me? What comes to mind when you hear ‘Tebow’ or ‘McCoy’?

So obviously the temptations are there for college athletes to run to the big bucks in the NFL, but that’s the problem.

Success in college is not guaranteed in the NFL, especially at the quarterback position. It’s an obvious fact of the game, but try telling that to a Heisman winner or National Champion. For every Peyton Manning or Troy Aikman there are five Ryan Leaf’s.

In the past 10 years, we’ve had eight quarterbacks selected with the first overall pick in the NFL draft. Of those eight quarterbacks, only four completed the 2010 season as the starter and only two have a winning career record.

That’s an alarming stat and maybe Andrew Luck was the only one who bothered to pay attention to it, while the rest of us were busy stitching his name onto a Panthers jersey.

He may have missed his opportunity to strike gold, but what good is gold if you don’t know what to do with it?

Instead of coaches preparing their players for the NFL Combine, they should be preparing them for life because it comes faster and hits harder than any opponent every will.

Football is life for some people and to others it’s just a game.

No one knows what will happen with Andrew Luck next season at Stanford, but when his name is finally called on draft day, at least he can say that he’s already accomplished something.

Used with permission of the author.

Los Angeles Based Logan Rhoades is the Associate Editor of the website JocksBehindBars.com. With an extensive knowledge of ESPN topics and celebrity gossip, he is known for mixing sports and pop culture. Check out his “Skip to My Logan” blog and Follow him on Twitter @loganrhoades.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

To paraphrase the great Keanu Reeves: “Football is a rough sport and that’s why girls don’t play the game”.

Taking a  look back at the previous decades it’s easy to see how Mr. Reeves, and myself, believe this philosophy although recent trends in the NFL are moving away from the ‘rough’ aspect of the game.

Without question the leader on the field is the quarterback. He has to be. No one touches the ball more than that jock who always got the hottest cheerleaders throughout college and no one can change the outcome of the game like he can. So it’s easy to understand why Roger Goodell and the NFL want to protect the Favres, Bradys and Staffords but they don’t have to treat them like Faberge eggs.

It’s one thing to make sure your million dollar investment doesn’t end up on the IR because of a cheap shot, but it’s quite another to keep him out of the physical nature of the game. Between the fines and costly penalties, defensive players can barely touch the quarterback. A shoulder bump or a hit on the flak jacket a second after the quarterback launches a pass warrants a late-hit penalty. Tackle him too hard, and you’re looking at a $15,000-$50,000 fine.

These recently instated rules are not only are creating Prima Donna quarterbacks who look for a penalty flag every time they hit the turf, but they’re also eliminating hard-nosed hitters on defense, just ask the Steelers James Harrison who leads the NFL with $125,000 worth of fines this season.

As the saying goes, “football is a game of inches.” With all due respect to the person who came up with that, that theory is wrong . Football is not a game of inches, but rather a game of seconds. If it were really a game of inches, meaning that every inch counts, then we wouldn’t have the officials eye-balling every single spot of the ball, so let’s just forget that notion and move on to why football is actually a game of seconds.

It’s obvious to look at the game clock when thinking about football as a game of seconds, but that’s not the meat and potatoes of this theory. Clearly every second on the clock matters but the reason why football is a game of seconds is because the actions and decisions that take place on the field happen in the blink of an eye. It’s the difference between a sack and a late-hit as well as a clean tackle and a helmet-to-helmet penalty. It’s the difference between a hi-five and five-digit fine and it’s the difference between an action and a reaction.

The players that we see every Sunday are operating at full-speed and moving in every direction imaginable. They are getting pushed from all angles and sometimes even fighting Mother Nature herself. And while dealing with all of this, they still have to do their job and make a decision in a split second.

They are not reacting to the play, but rather continuing their action. Yes, they are reacting to a ball being thrown or caught, but they cannot react to a head drop or a sudden empty hand when tackling the receiver or quarterback. Those things happen as fast as a blink, so why are we penalizing them for not being able to react to it?

Getting back to the “rough” part of Mr. Reeves statement, you cannot take away the roughness of NFL football because of injuries. Taking away that aspect means changing the game that we all know and love. Its true that nobody wants to see a player get injured, but we also don’t want to watch flag football for three hours.

Today’s players entered the league knowing the risks of playing the game. They have been training and practicing for years and we pay them millions of dollars to do what they have been conditioned to do. But suddenly, players are being coached and taught to ease off tackles and not be so aggressive out of fear of being penalized or fined which, in reality, is taking away the core of what football is all about.

Players should still be called for blatant penalties but there needs to be a system in place where they should be thinking about making a tackle instead of being fined. Once that becomes a part of a player’s mentality, then you have ruined the game of football.

When girls start playing the game, then maybe we can start looking at minimizing the roughness of the sport, but since that’s not going to happen, let’s leave football to the men and let them play the way the game’s intended to be played.

Maybe the NFL needs to take heed to comedian and sports fan Adam Carolla’s latest book titled, “In 50 Years We’ll All Be Chicks. . . ”

Used with permission of the author Logan Rhoades–Tom Ferda also contributed to this article.

Los Angeles Based Logan Rhoades is the Associate Editor of the website JocksBehindBars.com. With an extensive knowledge of ESPN topics and celebrity gossip, he is known for mixing sports and pop culture. Check out his “Skip to My Logan” blog and Follow him on Twitter @loganrhoades.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Josh McDaniels was fired yesterday as the Denver Broncos head coach to become the third NFL coach to be canned this season, joining both Wade Phillips and Brad Childress.

Although this may not come as a shock to football fans, it is odd that it happened when it did. Just last week, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said that “Josh McDaniels is the head coach of the Broncos, and you always strive for stability at that position.” He went on to hint that this might be McDaniels’ last season with the team but never suggested that it would be his last week.

Since Josh McDaniels was hired in Denver, the team has been on a roller coaster ride of controversy and questionable deals. In his short two seasons as head coach, he has traded away Pro Bowlers Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall and also Peyton Hillis, who has become a premier back in Cleveland.

In Addition to giving away the team’s main base of talent, McDaniels burned a first-round draft pick on quarterback Tim Tebow who was expected to be available into the second and even third round. In 12 games this season, Tebow has thrown just one pass but that could change at this point of the season with the team sitting in last place at 3-9.

His most recent indiscretion resulted in a $50,000 fine for illegally taping a San Francisco 49ers practice. Although McDaniels has stated that he declined to watch the tape, the backlash against him stood strong… as it should have.

Despite starting his career off in Denver with an impressive six-game winning streak, the Broncos are now 11-17 under Josh McDaniels and have lost seven out of their last eight games. Their 3-9 record this season is good enough for dead last in the AFC West and 28^th in ESPN’s latest Power Rankings.

With no chance of making the playoffs, Pat Bowlen had to make a decision and that decision resulted in naming running backs coach Eric Studesville the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

The good news for Broncos fans is that if the NFL trend continues, then they can look forward to a few more wins this year. The Cowboys and Vikings interim head coaches are a combined 5-1 this season, and both teams have been playing remarkably well since the head coaching changes.

The bad news for Broncos fans is that their team still sucks. The Denver Broncos defense ranks 31^st in opponent rushing yards and 22^nd in opponent passing yards. And let’s not forget that their rush offense is one of the worst in the league. Just imagine what the team would be like if they still had Brandon Marshall and Peyton Hillis.

With the remaining four games against teams without a winning record, the Broncos will look to gain some momentum into the off-season. Don’t be surprised if they win all four under Studesville and send McDaniels a message in the process.

Used with permission of the author.

Los Angeles Based Logan Rhoades is the Associate Editor of the website JocksBehindBars.com. With an extensive knowledge of ESPN topics and celebrity gossip, he is known for mixing sports and pop culture. Check out his “Skip to My Logan” blog and Follow him on Twitter @loganrhoades.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

College football scores are in for this final weekend of the schedule for BCS teams positioning themselves for bowl games. With a majority of the BCS Top 25 teams off this weekend here’s what we learned from the teams who did take the field.

Cam Newton is worth way more than $180,000, Kyle Brotzman is alive and kicking but unfortunately still kicking wide and Nebraska ended their Big 12 career with a bang in the form of their opposition’s victory cannon.

No.1 Auburn vs. No.19 South Carolina. Tigers kill the ‘Cocks, 56-17.

What did we learn?

1) Cam Newton is worth way more than $180,000.

2) Chuck Norris tells Cam Newton Facts.

No2 Oregon vs. Oregon State. Ducks win 37-20.

What did we learn?

1) Darron Thomas sounds like Frank Caliendo doing his Charles Barkley impression.

2) Duck fans would argue that this was the most meaningful Civil War in history.

No.9 Oklahoma vs. No.13 Nebraska. Sooners win 23-20.

What did we learn?

1) Nebraska ended their Big 12 career with a BANG! Sadly, it was the sound of OU’s victory cannon.

2) Bob Stoops and Bo Pelini must have run out of inspirational half-time speeches.

No.11 Boise State vs. Utah State. Broncos beat up the Aggies, 50-14.

What did we learn?

1) Kyle Brotzman is alive and kicking. Unfortunately, he is still kicking wide.

2) Utah State should think about recruiting the arrested snowball heaving Cincinnati’s Bearcat mascot as their quarterback.

No.15 Virginia Tech vs. No.21 Florida State. Hokies win 44-33.

What did we learn?

1) Tyrod Taylor was more elusive than the NCAA after they declared Cam Newton eligible.

2) The Seminoles didn’t commit a single penalty all game. They also didn’t tackle anyone.

No.17 Nevada vs. Louisiana Tech. Wolf Pack win 35-17.

What did we learn?

1) The Louisiana Tech football program has more sponsors than Jeff Gordon’s car.

2) More people saw the Creed reunion tour than witnessed this game.

No.23 Arizona vs. Arizona State. Sun Devils pull off a double-overtime victory, 30-29.

What did we learn?

1) You can get penalized for praising God after a touchdown, but you can’t for pretending to be Jesus.

2) There will be a lot of two-point conversion attempts in Arizona’s future.

No.24 West Virginia vs. Rutgers. Mountaineers win 35-14.

What did we learn?

1) The Scarlet Knights sound about as intimidating as they play.

2) Chas Dodd has already been sacked twice next season.

No.25 Northern Illinois vs. Miami (Not Florida). RedHawks win 26-21.

What did we learn?

1) ‘Illegal touching’ isn’t as bad if it happens on a football field.

2) It’s nice to see an unranked team hold up the No.1 sign.

MORE: Bearcat Mascot handcuffed and arrested – Jocks Behind Bars

BCS Top 25 Week 13 – “What We Learned” – Sports Climax

Kyle Brotzman, Boise kicker joins Hall of Shame – Sports Climax

BCS Top 25 Week 12 – “What We Learned” – Sports Climax

Used with permission of the author.

Logan Rhoades is a Los Angeles columnist and the Associate Editor of Jocks Behind Bars. With an extensive knowledge of ESPN topics and celebrity gossip, he is known for mixing sports and pop culture in the various columns he writes. Check out his blog and Follow him on Twitter @loganrhoades.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

For failing to have a structured fine system, and for sending mixed messages to the league, Roger Goodell get’s the Bitch-Slap-of-the-Week.

Mr. Goodell has pretty much always been a glutton for punishment, however, this latest crackdown makes about as much sense as a solar-powered flashlight.

Earlier this week, the Czar of Football swung his mighty gavel and declared that Cortland Finnegan and Andre Johnson were to be fined $25,000 for ripping off each other’s helmets and brawling in the middle of the game.

Hold up, wait a minute, let’s look at this a little bit closer and add some judgment.

According to Goodell, a fight with haymakers to the face is the equivalent to a person tweeting during a game. That’s right. Earlier this year, Chad Ochocinco was fined the exact same amount ($25,000) for sending an in-game tweet.

This isn’t the first time that Mr. Magoo has failed to see through his coke-bottled, clouded lenses.

In 2006, Terrell Owens was fined $35,000 for spitting on another player. In 2008, Clinton Portis and Sean Taylor were fined $5,000 for wearing red socks instead of white socks. In 2009, Titans owner Bud Adams was fined a whopping $250,000 for throwing the double birdie at an entire stadium. And just a couple months ago, Steve Johnson was slapped with a $10,000 fine for pretending to shoot off a rifle and Nate Burleson was fined $15,000 for punting the ball after a touchdown celebration.

So, after some deductive reasoning, one can assume that punching a guy in the face is approximately worth… nothing.

If we go by Goodell’s rules, it costs a player more to hock a loogie than it does to throw an uppercut to an unprotected face trying to inflict bodily harm. And apparently those throwing up a middle finger should expect to feel the strongest wrath.

The commissioner has no problem fining players up to 75K for tackling someone just above the numbers, but somehow has remorse for players duking it out in the middle of a televised game.

So what kind of system is this guy running? There really seems to be no system at all. The fines that Goodell is handing out are ludicrous and have no reasoning whatsoever. If he wanted to send a message to the league and its players, then he should have come down hard on Andre Johnson and Cortland Finnegan.

Now don’t get us wrong. we enjoy a nice boxing match as much as the next testosterone-filled sports fan, that’s why we go to hockey games, but if Goodell is attempting to clean up the NFL and set standards amongst its members, then he has completely failed.

Don’t be surprised if more athletes turn to fistfights now that precedence is set and the punishment is equivalent to a couple sock fines or Brad Maynard impressions. It’s even less than wearing a sombrero and poncho after scoring a touchdown.

By the way, Mr. Goodell, how does this hand taste? SMACK!

Used with permission of the author.

Logan Rhoades is a Los Angeles columnist and the Associate Editor of Jocks Behind Bars. With an extensive knowledge of ESPN topics and celebrity gossip, he is known for mixing sports and pop culture in the various columns he writes. Check out his blog and Follow him on Twitter @loganrhoades.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

College football scores Week 13 are in and it was a crazy weekend for many of the BCS Top 25 teams so what did we learn? Auburn’s comeback was worthy of a Rocky Balboa montage, Steve Bartman just sent a Facebook friend request to Kyle Brotzman and Iowa is more overrated than Kim Kardashian’s sex tape.

No.1 Oregon vs. No.21 Arizona. Ducks win 48-29.

What did we learn?

1)    Chip Kelly is more than likely sponsored by Double Bubble.

2)    The inability to eat turkey during Thanksgiving will drive a man to great measures.

No.2 Auburn vs. No.11 Alabama. Tigers win 28-27.

What did we learn?

1)    Auburn’s comeback was worthy of a Rocky Balboa montage.

2)    Heisman winners double as great backups.

No.3 TCU vs. New Mexico. Horned Frogs win 66-17.

What did we learn?

1)    No one is a bigger South Carolina fan than TCU.

2)    Lobos coach Mike Locksley thinks he’s being stalked by TMZ.

No.4 Boise State vs. No.19 Nevada. Nevada wins with an epic comeback, 34-31 OT.

What did we learn?

1)    Kyle Brotzman needs a personal bodyguard.

2)    Steve Bartman just sent a Facebook friend request to Kyle Brotzman.

No.5 LSU vs. No.12 Arkansas. Razorbacks win 31-23.

What did we learn?

1)    You cannot flip the football to an overweight special teams player.

2)    At 6’5” Ryan Mallet can see over the defense and throw over his receiver’s heads.

No.6 Stanford vs. Oregon State. Cardinal win 38-0.

What did we learn?

1)    Ryan Katz might be one of the most accurate wrong team passers in the league.

2)    Luck is already an NFL draft bust.

No.7 Wisconsin vs. Northwestern. Badgers cruise to a 70-23 victory.

What did we learn?

1)    Wisconsin would be a consensus No. 2 during March Madness.

2)    Northwestern thought they were playing two-hand-touch.

No.8 Ohio State vs. Michigan. Buckeyes win 37-7.

What did we learn?

1)    Rich Rod needs to update his resume.

2)    It’s unsportsmanlike to beat up on a Pop Warner team.

No.9 Oklahoma State vs. No.13 Oklahoma. Sooners win 47-41.

What did we learn?

1)    Backyard tip drills really do pay off.

2)    Punters deserve Oscar nominations.

No.10 Michigan State vs. Penn State. Spartans win 28-22.

What did we learn?

1)    The hug between a player and a coach is more awkward than watching an X-rated movie with your parents.

2)    Joe Paterno was deprived of smiley face stickers as a child.

No.14 Missouri vs. Kansas. Mizzou wins 35-7.

What did we learn?

1)    The best way to sell a fake is to pretend like you’re praying away from the line of scrimmage.

2)    The Missouri mascot outfit was bought at Goodwill.

No.15 Nebraska vs. Colorado. Cornhuskers win 45-17.

What did we learn?

1)    The Pelini bros. should open a sandwich joint in New Jersey.

2)    Colorado can’t even cheat correctly.

No.16 Virginia Tech vs. Virginia. Hokies win 37-7.

What did we learn?

1)    Virginia might be the best hugging school in the nation.

2)    Grass stains don’t seem to bother college athletes.

No.17 Texas A&M vs. Texas. Aggies win 24-17.

What did we learn?

1)    Cyrus Gray is the equivalent of hot lava: you can’t touch him.

2)    Garrett Gilbert should really think twice before throwing the ball off of an opponent’s helmet.

No.18 South Carolina vs. Clemson. Gamecocks win 29-7.

What did we learn?

1)    Girls cheering in the stands are not as exciting to watch as girls cheering on the sidelines.

2)    Kyle Parker needs to practice his jump shot.

No.20 Utah vs. BYU. Utes win 17-16.

What did we learn?

1)    Utah might have the best trick-punt call in the nation.

2)    Utah might need to find a new punter.

No.22 Florida State vs. Florida. Seminoles win 31-7.

What did we learn?

1)    Jimbo Fisher has sensitive eyes.

2)    Urban Meyer should have stayed retired.

No.23 North Carolina State vs. Maryland. Terps win 38-31.

What did we learn?

1)    Officials have no idea how to measure a first down.

2)    NC State’s robbing made John Dillinger jealous.

No.24 Iowa vs. Minnesota. Gophers win 27-24.

What did we learn?

1)    Iowa is more overrated than Kim Kardashian’s sex tape.

2)    The Hawkeyes must be allergic to conference wins.

No.25 Mississippi State vs. Mississippi. Bulldogs win 31-23.

What did we learn?

1)    The Rebels are terrible at tackling, but really good at Slip n’ Slides.

2)    The Rebels are not good at tag.

BCS Top 25 Week 12 – “What We Learned” – Sports Climax

BCS Top 25 Week 11 – “What We Learned” – Sports Climax

Used with permission of the author.

Logan Rhoades is a Los Angeles columnist and the Associate Editor of Jocks Behind Bars. With an extensive knowledge of ESPN topics and celebrity gossip, he is known for mixing sports and pop culture in the various columns he writes. Check out his blog and Follow him on Twitter @loganrhoades.

Copyright ©2010 Jocks Behind Bars, LLC

The talent may be in South Beach this year, but the numbers in the win column sure aren’t. Last night, the Miami Heat fell to the Indiana Pacers in an embarrassing route that featured Wade shooting just 1-13 from the field and left many fans wondering what exactly has happened to the Miami All-Stars.

This latest loss drops the team to 8-6 on the season, which is good enough for 3^rd place in the Southeast Division and 5^th in the Eastern Conference.

Looks like the ’95 Bulls can rest easy knowing that their regular season record will stay intact. Heck, at this rate, the Heat might not even break the ’09 Bulls record.

It may be too early to judge the team, but it’s not too early to see the warning signs. The Heat are in trouble and they know it. With Udonis Haslem possibly out for the remainder of the season with an injury, the Miami bench is wearing thin.

Just over a week ago, The Chosen One admitted to being overworked, but with the injuries and the losses racking up, it looks like LeBron’s troubles will continue.

He was visibly frustrated after the Pacers game, with the loss perhaps a bit humbling for the reigning MVP. The stark reality of a stumbling season has suddenly become all too real for The Big Three in Miami.

The biggest problem, along with the height of their egos, has been the team’s consistency. In only 14 games this season, we have seen 14 different Miami teams show up. Some are ugly, some are pretty, but most are underwhelming. This could very well be due to their identity crisis.

The Miami Heat do not have a leader; they have two and a half. It is without a doubt Dwayne Wade’s team, but LeBron is emerging as its leader. The Big Three have yet to play as a solid core partially because they don’t know how. Bosh has shown that he can help a struggling offense, but he doesn’t put up dependable numbers. LeBron is leading the team in points, but clashes with Wade when it comes to handling the rock. And the rest of the team, well, just pretty much puts on a jersey and calls it a day.

As evidenced in last night’s matchup, when one player falls apart, the team tends to follow. It seems that if the Heat want to win, then all nine players need to have solid performances. Sure, they can win when one of them has an off night, but don’t expect those wins to happen often. Even if the trio puts up decent numbers that still doesn’t guarantee a victory. If the Heat want to turn things around, then they need to forget their past and focus on their future.

The wins are obviously not coming as easily as they had envisioned, which means that something needs to change if they want to make a push for a championship.

After Monday night’s game, LeBron told the press that the players on the team, including him, were no longer having fun. If LeBron isn’t having fun, he will not play up to his potential. And therein lies our problem. It should be the other way around.

When The King made his move to Miami, he had two things in mind: a championship and fun. In his eyes, the two go hand-in-hand. He couldn’t win a championship in Cleveland because he was never truly having fun. If he were having fun, he wouldn’t have left.

In order for the Heat to get back into winning form, they need to focus on winning and not on having fun and that means that they have to be teammates instead of best friends.

The fun comes from winning, not vice-versa. Now I’m not trying to suggest that team camaraderie is counter-productive; all I’m saying is that the Heat are not a team yet, and therefore need to put the fun aside until the victories start piling up.

Wade, LeBron and Bosh need to forget about their history together and focus on becoming one unit. Until they can successfully accomplish this, they will never be a true NBA team.

Used with permission of the author.

Logan Rhoades is a Los Angeles columnist and the Associate Editor of Jocks Behind Bars. With an extensive knowledge of ESPN topics and celebrity gossip, he is known for mixing sports and pop culture in the various columns he writes. Check out his blog and Follow him on Twitter @loganrhoades.

Copyright ©2010 Jocks Behind Bars, LLC

College football scores are in for Week 12 and with the top three NCAA football programs idle many of the BCS Top 25 teams took advantage.

So what did we learn from Week 12?

The Spartans comeback could make Robert Downey Jr. jealous, Kellen Moore’s passes have more airtime than the Goodyear blimp and it’s hard to make a field goal when your go-to-kick is a curveball.

No.4 Boise State vs. Fresno State. Broncos cruise to a 51-0 victory.

What did we learn?

1)    Kellen Moore’s passes have more airtime than the Goodyear blimp.

2)    It’s hard to defend the Broncos when you’re barely allowed to touch them.

No.5 LSU vs. Ole Miss. Tigers win 43-36.

What did we learn?

1)    Southern hospitality takes precedent over tackling the opposing quarterback.

2)    Ole Miss must be rebelling against wins.

No.6 Stanford vs. California. Cardinal win easy, 48-14.

What did we learn?

1)    Andrew Luck will have a future in the NFL… as a linebacker.

2)    The Stanford football team should thank their fans for telling them to ‘Beat Cal’. Without those shirts, they might have lost.

No.7 Wisconsin vs. Michigan. Badgers run to a 48-28 win.

What did we learn?

1)    Don’t let numbers fool you. Just because a defense (Michigan) is ranked No. 100 in the nation it doesn’t mean they’re that good.

2)    The “Big House” is not as big as it used to be.

No.8 Nebraska vs. No.19 Texas A&M. Aggies win the snoozefest, 9-6.

What did we learn?

1)    Taylor Martinez carries around a towel so he can wipe his face after Bo Pelini talks to him.

2)    The Aggies 12^th man is the official.

No.9 Ohio State vs. No.20 Iowa. Buckeyes win 20-17.

What did we learn?

1)    Your seat in the Iowa student section is determined by a foot race.

2)    Jim Tressell’s sweater vest is just for show.

No.10 Oklahoma State vs. Kansas. Cowboys win 48-14.

What did we learn?

1)    Flea-flickers don’t work when you under-throw it to a guy who is double-teamed.

2)    Mauler (Noun): “Someone who pushes a guy in the direction he doesn’t want to go.”

No.11 Alabama vs. Georgia State. Crimson Tide dominate in a 63-7 win.

What did we learn?

1)    You can make a football team out of scratch.

2)    You can’t make a good football team out of scratch.

No.12 Michigan State vs. Purdue. Boilermakers fail to hold on and lose 31-35.

What did we learn?

1)    The Spartans comeback made Robert Downey Jr. jealous.

2)    An injury to your arm causes some players to limp.

No.13 Arkansas vs. No.21 Mississippi State. Razorbacks win in 2OT, 38-31.

What did we learn?

1)    ‘The Commentator Jinx’ is just as reliable as a Duracell battery.

2)    Don’t worry if you pump-fake more than once; you can always reload.

No.14 Oklahoma vs. Baylor. Sooners win 53-24.

What did we learn?

1)    Baylor tried to play with twelve players. They should have tried harder.

2)    Losing your shoe is not as costly as losing the ball.

No.15 Missouri vs. Iowa State. Mizzou wins 14-0.

What did we learn?

1)    It’s hard to make a field goal when your go-to-kick is a curveball.

2)    Blaine Gabbert throws with confidence and runs with cement feet.

No.16 Virginia Tech vs. No. 24 Miami. Hokies win 31-17.

What did we learn?

1)    Miami is really trying hard for that worst jerseys title.

2)    Ricky Williams changed his name to Ryan and is now playing for the Hokies.

No.17 South Carolina vs. Troy. Gamecocks win 69-24.

What did we learn?

1)    Steve Spurrier practices yoga when he’s on the sidelines.

2)    Throwing the ball away is apparently just as hard as punting it.

No.18 Nevada vs. New Mexico State. Wolf Pack win big, 52-6.

What did we learn?

1)    In terms of rushing attempts, this was an extremely even game.

2)    This was a nice warm up for the Boise State matchup next week.

No.23 Utah vs. San Diego State. Utes comeback to win 38-34.

What did we learn?

1)    You can lose your helmet, lose your jockstrap and miss the tackle all in the same play.

2)    San Diego State learned nothing from the Houston Texans loss last week.

No.25 Florida State vs. Maryland. Seminoles win 30-16.

What did we learn?

1)    Putting on a Seminoles jersey is like getting the kiss of death, if you’re a kicker.

2)    The FSU offensive linemen are no longer playing freeze tag.

BCS Top 25 Week 11 “What We Learned” – Sports Climax

BCS Top 25 “What We Learned” Week 10 – Sports Climax

Used with permission of the author.

Logan Rhoades is a Los Angeles columnist and the Associate Editor of Jocks Behind Bars. With an extensive knowledge of ESPN topics and celebrity gossip, he is known for mixing sports and pop culture in the various columns he writes. Check out his blog and Follow him on Twitter @loganrhoades.

Copyright ©2010 Jocks Behind Bars, LLC