Well, before that, let’s hope the guy’s healthy first.

The 2008-09 NCAA college football season is upon us and for the USC Trojans, nothing is better than starting the season ranked no.3 overall. They will start the season at Virginia on August 30, that’s when Mark Sanchez will officially become the Trojans’ starting quarterback after filling in for the injured John David Booty thrice last year.

Is Mark Sanchez ready? Is he ready to accept the mantle of USC Trojans quarterback after the likes of Booty and Heisman trophy winner Matt Leinart made the position famous? Sanchez is coming off a horrific injury earlier this month after he dislocated his left kneecap and had to be carted off the practice field.

With the brand new college football season here, Mark Sanchez says he’s ready for the challenge. Hell, coming into a season as a starter for the first time in his college football career with the USC Trojans, he has to be ready, and excited.

‘’I'm optimistic about it, we’re ahead of schedule,'’ Mark Sanchez said after taking some drops, throwing some passes and doing a bit of light jogging. ‘’Everything today felt good. That’s a good sign. If it were up to me, I’m playing. [But] I want to be ready for the whole season. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.'’

Trojan fans are concerned about their new starting quarterback’s injury and…

Read More » Sanchez Era begins for the USC Trojans on August 30

And in case you haven’t heard, they haven’t awarded Team USA with the Olympic basketball championship just yet.

And while Team USA looks primed to win gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, one team that may shock the rest of the world yet again is Australia. They are set to meet on Wednesday and the Aussies sure look the part of show stoppers.

After pounding Germany 106-57, Team USA has been the poster child for dominance in the Olympic Games. Other than Michael Phelps, the US basketball team gives the United States a better shot of winning a gold medal in Beijing.

Of course, with NBA stars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul, that gold medal is for Team USA to lose more than win it. Hell, Olympic officials could just hand them the gold medal already and none of the countries competing in this already one-sided basketball tournament will contest.

But then again, there’s Team Australia.

After beating then undefeated Lithuania in emphatic fashion, winning by a whopping 31 points, the Aussies showed the dominance on the hardwood you’ll…

Read More » People, Australia can beat Team USA on Wednesday

That’s right, English football is on once again.

The 2008-09 English Premier League season finally got underway Saturday with seven games including Arsenal hosting West Brom. Defending Premier League champion Manchester United and second place finisher Chelsea opened their respective campaigns Sunday to kick-off day two.

The champions, however, did not start the season at full strength. Sir Alex Ferguson had to mix and match to compensate for the injuries they have at the start of their campaign. Fortunately for them, slow starts is nothing new to them.

Last year, Manchester United started slowly with just two points in their first three games but came back to win the title. Still, starting the season without superstar scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, who is out until October, should be big.

Cristiano Ronaldo had 42 goals for Man-U last season.

‘’Last season we had a staggered start, Tevez and Anderson joined us and weren’t 100 percent fit, Ronaldo got suspended for three games after the first game, then Rooney got injured in the first match against Reading and…'’

Read More » The 2008-09 English Premier League Season finally began with Manchester United leading the way

Oh you just know it will be there one way or another.

Football has always been all about rivalries and coming to the brand new 2008 NCAA college football season, you can expect old rivalries renewed and new ones born.

And while we count the remaining days before the new season of college football begins this month, have you ever wondered which of the great rivalries in football will continue this season? Never fear. As always, we have you covered.

Starting of is the rivalry between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Wisconsin Badgers. Both teams have played 116 times, listed as the most played rivalry in NCAA college football history.

Both teams are set to meet again on November 15 when the Golden Gophers visit the Wisconsin Badgers, expect this one to be personal.

The Kansas Jayhawks have two rivalries going to be renewed this season.

First, the Jayhawks will be playing their rivals, the…

Read More » Rivalries in the 2008 NCAA College Football Season

With the price of gasoline these days, Coulthard’s idea not only aims to help F1, but to conserve oil supply as well.

It is probably the fuel fire in Hungary in the 2008 F1 season that gave the retiring David Coulthard this idea. And that idea is banning refuelling in pit stops during races.

According to David Coulthard, putting a stop to refuelling during races not only will help F1, it will also help drivers develop into better competitors and not just rely on how fast can his team perform in the pitlane.

‘’The spate of fuel fires in Hungary were all extinguished quickly and no one was hurt, but they did serve to remind us how potentially volatile pit stops are,'’ David Coulthard said.

‘’From my point of view a bigger drawback of refuelling is that it detracts from the racing by turning the grand prix into a series of low-fuel sprints between pit stops.'’

‘’In the days (pre-1994) when you carried your entire race fuel…'’

Read More » David Coulthard wants to ban refueling to help F1 (And probably to help his team win for a change…)

Domination.

That’s exactly what US Olympian Michael Phelps has shown in the swimming competition of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As this year’s Games continue to unfold, swimming is one of the most exciting sporting events in this quadrennial event and Phelps is already being crowned with the title ‘’best swimmer in the world'’ after winning gold medal after gold medal in the biggest sporting event of the year.

Michael Phelps, as many people say, could re-write Olympic history in the field of swimming where he is believed to dominate and capture all eight gold medals in all of the events that he will participate in.

Obviously, the 23-year-old American is the heavy favorite to win the gold medal in the men’s 200m freestyle as well. And the expectations don’t end there, Phelps is also the favorite to win gold in the 100m butterfly, favorite to win gold in the 200m butterfly, favorite to win gold in the 200m men’s individual medley and the favorite to win gold in the 400m men’s individual medley.

Phelps already won eight medals in the 2004 Athens Games, six gold and two bronze medals.

Eamon Sullivan of Australia and Alain Bernard of France are listed as co-favorites to win the men’s 100m freestyle as well while Grant Hackett of Australia is also one of the…

Read More » Can Michael Phelps be stopped in 2008 Beijing Games?

You read it, the final table of the 2008 WSOP is set.

The 2008 World Series of Poker already have its final nine players ready to compete when they resume play on November. And in case you didn’t catch the title of this article, yes, we’ll be introducing who those final nine players are in a series of stories right here on OddJack.

Dubbed as the November Nine, these nine finalists of the 2008 WSOP battled their way through a field of 6,844 entrants, rising to the top of the final 27 players to take their respective positions at the final table.

The final nine of the 2008 WSOP are; Dennis Phillips, Ivan Demidov, Scott Montgomery, Peter Eastgate, Ylon Schwartz, Darus Suharto, David Rheem, Craig Marquis and Kelly Kim. And just because this is the first of ten stories focused on the final nine participants vying for the 2008 WSOP bracelet, we found it only fitting to give ya’ll a glimpse.

Dennis Phillips, one of the oldest players of the ‘’November Nine'’ hails from St. Louis, Mo. and currently is the chip leader. Phillips has some poker success on his resume. He came in ninth place back in 2007 WSOP Circuit Grand Tunica $500 No-Limit Hold’em event.

Ivan Demidov, on the other hand, has…

Read More » 2008 World Series of Poker Final 9 Part 1: Prologue

It’s time once again to bet on these English football games.

The 2008-09 English Premier League season opens up with Manchester United winning the Community Shield, beating Portsmouth in a penalty shoot-out.

It was customary in English football that the winners of the F.A. Cup and the winners of the Premiership meet in English football’s season opener. And as many people probably expected, the Premiership champions edged the F.A. Cup winners as Manchester United won what could be the first of the seven trophies they could win this year.

Of course, Man-U boss Sir Alex Ferguson should already be happy knowing that Cristiano Ronaldo has decided to stay with the team at least until the next transfer season opens up.

More importantly, Fergie should be happy to know that his team is STILL a class of its own. Man-U looked ready to defend the Premiership title they won last season, not to mention, looking primed to win the UEFA Champions League title again.

Portsmouth have been held up by some, including Man-United captain Gary Neville, as potential top-four material this term.

Yet for all the added bulk and height…

Read More » Manchester United opens 2008 Premiership with a bang

One-nil, that’s how team USA will start their campaign on that Olympic pitch.

And in case you have no idea what I’m trying to stress here, it’s about the soccer tournament in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And yes, team USA sure started their campaign with a bang.

You read it people, betting on the 2008 Olympic soccer tournament has begun with USA coming up with a 1-0 win over Japan, thanks to Stuart Holden coming up with the only goal of the fixture.

The win was the United States’ first win in soccer at the Olympic Games in eight long years (and their head coach’s first, EVER…) and obviously, they’re happy about it.

‘’The first game is never easy, and you never know how it is going to be,'’ U.S. coach Peter Nowak said. ‘’You train for three weeks and you try to find the right recipe. It was important to get the three points.'’

‘’My first Olympic win,'’ Nowak added, ‘’there’s nothing better than that.'’

Team USA is leading their group after one match since the Netherlands and Nigeria…

Read More » Will the U.S. Soccer Team’s debut in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games mean a Gold Medal in the end?

That’s right, the NBA has released its schedule for the coming season.

And while we’re still preparing for the coming football season ahead, the schedule for the 2008-09 NBA basketball season has arrived, teasing us on what we can expect in Boston’s first season since the 80s as world champions.

And speaking of the Boston Celtics, they have LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on opening night at the TD Banknorth Garden where they will receive their NBA championship rings.

Cruel huh? Nights when you receive championship rings are suppose to be a night of celebration but with LeBron James and company coming to town, I’m not expecting Boston to remain in a celebratory mood after five minutes.

NBA Finals runner-up, Los Angeles Lakers, will be hosting the Portland Trail Blazers as Greg Oden finally makes his long-awaited debut in the NBA after sitting out the rest of what was suppose to be his rookie season.

Is Greg Oden really worth all the hype? I have a feeling Kobe Bryant will…

Read More » 2008-09 NBA Regular Season Schedule is Here