Football has long been America’s most popular sport.

While baseball is the American pastime and holds a special place in the hearts of sports fans, it has yet to surpass football in terms of either broad appeal or revenues especially now with the 2010 NCAA college football season just around the corner.

Nor is the National Football League the only beneficiary of football’s enduring popularity. Indeed, in parts of the country with unsuccessful NFL teams (or no NFL teams), college football is just as popular – and just as lucrative. Likewise, an accomplished head coach at a prestigious college program can easily command several million dollars per year in salary, and the football teams themselves figure prominently in the entire cost structure of their universities.

So what are these teams you ask?

Let’s start with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Valued at $108 million and boasting profits of $38 million – the Fighting Irish have long been one of the most widely followed teams in NCAA football. Seven Heisman Trophy winners have played for Notre Dame, as well as 95 consensus All-Americans.

Furthermore, Notre Dame Stadium (where the team plays its home games) seats more people than some NFL stadiums do – 80,795 at last count. The team has also won eight national championships, and owes much of its current value to consistently being a contender year in and year out.

Another highly valued NCAA football team with a rich history is…

College football is back baby.

And for the first time in quite a while, the Alabama Crimson Tide will come to the 2010 NCAA college football season as the national champions, looking to defend that title in the BCS title game come January.

The popularity of the Alabama Crimson Tide is hard to exaggerate. According to Forbes, the team’s “waiting list to obtain season tickets for the Crimson Tide is currently 15,210 names long.”

Furthermore, simply being next up on the list is no guarantee of getting tickets. The only thing coming up on the list entitles you to do is “make a donation to the athletic department ranging from $5,000 to $500,000″ depending on the location of seats you wish to buy tickets for.

Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban is the fourth highest paid coach in college football, raking in about $3.9 million per season. No wonder the guy was determined to bring the title to Alabama since bamboozling Dolphins fans into thinking that he’ll stay with them for the long haul.

With everything going for the Tide, just who can challenge these guys heading to the season in terms of being the most valuable commodity on the gridiron? Of course, one team comes to mind and that’s last year’s runners-up, the Texas Longhorns.

The Texas Longhorns is the most valuable college football team right now…

Will Tim Tebow be drafted within the first five picks of the first round?

Arguably the biggest story line heading into the 2010 NFL Draft involves a quarterback who won’t even be the first, second or possibly third player taken at his own position.

Of course we refer to former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow of Florida, as his status remains very unpredictable with the draft set to begin Thursday night in New York. And Tebow’s draft position is one of many draft props available on Bodog’s NFL odds.

Tebow is one of the most decorated college football players ever and there is no more marketable player in this year’s draft, but you won’t find a consensus on whether he can play quarterback in the NFL.

The lefty already has changed his throwing mechanics in an effort to fix one major flaw that NFL scouts have harped on. Tebow’s bruising running style simply won’t work in the NFL, and he rarely took a snap under center with the Florida Gators. So who will take a chance on him and when?

Bodog lists Tebow going between picks 30 and 50 as the -200 betting favorite. The Jacksonville Jaguars have long been rumored as a destination, as Jacksonville is Tebow’s hometown and the franchise has had trouble selling tickets. Tebow would help fix that.

Meanwhile, there is little doubt how the top three picks will play out beginning Thursday night as the draft moves to primetime TV and over three days for the first time. Former Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford is expected to go No.1 overall, but will it be to St. Louis or possibly Cleveland?

Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh and Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy should…

You read it, we’ll see more of Tim Tebow soon.

In case you didn’t know, Tim Tebow will be in Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, Florida even before he officially gets drafted to the NFL.

Confused? Don’t be. It’s just about this little 30-second TV spot for Tim Tebow during the CBS broadcast of the Super Bowl. And since Florida will host the Super Bowl this year, you shouldn’t be surprised to see only one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever come from Florida in the state’s take on the NFL’s annual extravaganza.

The 30-second TV ad will feature the former Florida Gators quarterback and his mother Pam. Tebow and his mother will share one of their many personal family – affirming stories, one of which could be her decision to carry him to term despite a life-threatening pregnancy in the Philippines where she and her husband Bob were serving as Christian missionaries.

You read it, doctors advised Pam to have an abortion or risk a life-threatening pregnancy. Pam chose the latter and nine months later, she gave birth to Tim Tebow who later became a Heisman Trophy winner, a BCS national champion and one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play college football.

The TV ad is produced by the Colorado Springs – based ministry, Focus on the Family.

Focus spokesman Gary Schneeberger said Tebow agreed to appear in the ad because the issue of life is one he and his family feel so strongly about. Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, is known for being home – schooled…

What, you thought those guys will just let the big game this Sunday slip by without getting a piece of the betting public?

Just in case you didn’t know, Super Bowl XLIV is this Sunday in Miami, Florida where the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints play for all the marbles. It’s Peyton Manning going up against Drew Brees, Manning’s legacy against the city of New Orleans. If you’re not pumped up about that, then you’re probably one of two things; you don’t like sports or you’re just too enamored with Manny Pacquiao that you stick your head up his ass, talk about everything he does 24/7 and call it a sport.

As for the rest of us who do love sports, more specifically football, the Super Bowl match-up between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints should be one heckuva’ game. Hell, the conference championship games both teams played on a couple of weeks ago was one of the highest rated football games on TV already. Super Bowl XLIV should be off the chain.

Of course, before the Indianapolis Colts take on the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV, sportsbooks across the country have begun to post all kinds of betting options for you to bet on and our guys from Bodog are no different.

One of which has odds on the Super Bowl commercial that will feature Tim Tebow and his family. The 30-second commercial produced and paid for by Christian group Focus on the Family features the now former Florida Gators quarterback and…

Oh yes, the former Raiders, former Tennessee Volunteers coach will now take over the helm at USC.

The USC Trojans have a new head coach heading to the 2010 NCAA college football season. In case you didn’t know it yet, Lane Kiffin is now coaching at USC after one season at Tennessee.

Lane Kiffin will replace Pete Caroll, who left the USC Trojans to coach the Seattle Seahawks. Of course, those folks supporting the Tennessee Volunteers did not like Kiffin’s move one bit.

The 34-year old Lane Kiffin was the offensive coordinator in USC before his brief stints with the Oakland Raiders and the Volunteers. For Kiffin, this was not an easy decision to make knowing the support he got from the organization. ”I really believe the only place I would have left here to go was, Southern California,” he said.

His father, respected defensive coach Monte Kiffin, and longtime USC assistant Ed Orgeron, will also leave the Tennessee Volunteers to join him.

Carroll left USC after winning 97 games, seven Pac-10 championships and two national titles over the past nine seasons. Kiffin is one of Carroll’s top followers. Kiffin, a former Fresno State quarterback, worked his way up to offensive coordinator in 2005 while also showing impressive skills as the Trojans’ recruiting coordinator after Orgeron’s departure from Los Angeles.

For two seasons, Kiffin shared responsibility for the Trojans’ offense with fellow longtime Carroll assistant Steve Sarkisian, who left USC to take over at Washington after the 2008 season.

Kiffin went 7-6 at Tennessee last season as the youngest…

Because once he gets drafted to the Browns, the Lions or the Bills, winning will soon be just a pigment of his imagination.

The future stars of the 2010 NFL Draft class will take the field for the 61^st Under Armour Senior Bowl on Saturday January 30, 2010. This will give them NFL scouts an opportunity to evaluate these talents further and finally decide who’ll be that one guy who can finally save their godforsaken franchise.

One of the players to watch out is Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow. Tebow accepted the challenge to play in the Under Armour Senior Bowl by officially accepting an invitation to the senior showcase event.

Aside from Tebow, three other signal callers will participate in the Under Armour Senior Bowl. Oregon State’s Sean Canfield, Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour and Cincinnati’s Tony Pike have all accepted invitations to the 2010 game.

Sean Canfield earned first team All-Pac-10 honors his senior season after throwing for 3,271 yards and 21 touchdowns. His 251.6 passing yards per game was tops in the Pac-10 and he ranked second in the league in passing efficiency at 141.9. He led the Beavers to an 8 and 5 record and Las Vegas Bowl appearance this season while setting the school mark for completion…

Well, that’s what one former Bills quarterback is saying anyway.

Since Jim Kelly retired, the Buffalo Bills have started nine different quarterbacks under center, all of them failing to put the Bills back to prominence.

The Bills’ lackluster play in the recently concluded 2009 NFL football season has made Buffalo’s lack of a good quarterback all the more apparent. And as far as Kelly is concerned, he has an idea on who can save this franchise and put ‘em back to title contention, Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow.

Yes, since the Bills have a legitimate shot at the overall No.1 draft pick, Jim Kelly says the Bills should take Tim Tebow since the guy is THE key to a return to greatness for this franchise.

”Whether it’s Tim Tebow, whether they’ll have a shot at him when draft time comes, you have to look at the top three quarterbacks in the draft, really study them. And you look for a guy with good character, good leadership ability and good arm strength, and a guy who doesn’t come from California,” Jim Kelly said.

”I like Trent personally,” Kelly said, referring to Trent Edwards, the current Bills QB. ”He works hard. But he’s had three years. It’s time to find somebody who is the future of the Buffalo Bills. If I’m the owner, that’s what I’m thinking.”

”You have to start with the head coach and you have to…”

Good luck.

Because the Texas Longhorns will definitely have their hands full against the Alabama Crimson Tide when they play for the 2010 BCS national championship. Oh yeah, the title game is this Thursday, marking the culmination of yet another thrilling college football season.

The Texas Longhorns are seeking their second BCS national championship in five years. You see, it was five years ago when Texas shocked the USC Trojans to win the national title 41-38 behind Vince Young’s heroics. On Thursday, they can win it on that same field when they take on Alabama in Pasadena, California.

Just like in 2005, the Texas Longhorns will be the underdogs as they try to upset the Alabama Crimson Tide from winning their first ever BCS national title. Alabama is so well put together this season that beating them is such a daunting task. After all, this was THE team that booted out the defending national champions Florida Gators out of the national championship picture and if these…

We do too.

And that’s despite the fact that Alabama is coming to the 2010 BCS national championship game without any experience whatsoever playing in a game this big with the freaking national title at stake.

Yep, the Alabama Crimson Tide is coming to their first ever BCS national championship game facing the Texas Longhorns who have already won it five years ago on the same field that they’ll be in this Thursday night. We still like the Tide though, here’s why.

Third year head coach Nick Saban has engineered a quick turnaround in Tuscaloosa as he led the Alabama Crimson Tide to two undefeated seasons in the last two years. This season, the Crimson Tide dominated the defending national champions Florida Gators to win the SEC title, earning a bid for the Crystal Trophy for the first time.

Alabama enjoyed a significantly improved season on offense. Behind the rushing of Mark Ingram and the steady play of quarterback Greg McElroy, the Tide scored an average of 31.7 points per game, finishing 27th nationally.

Their running game was dominant, finishing 8th in the country and earning starting tailback Mark Ingram an invite to the Heisman Trophy ceremony. Their passing offense was efficient but it only finished 67th nationally, showing their commitment to running the football. With the way Ingram has been running with the football, nobody is complaining.

As good as their offense already is, the Crimson Tide’s…