BCS may be lucky this year

It would appear for once that college football's Bowl Championship Series poll will actually work! Fans of college will get lucky as long as undefeated favorites Texas and USC win by just one point tomorrow, because those teams would deservedly meet in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4, for the BCS national title.

Fans and BCS people should enjoy this while they can, because the odds are that next year we won't be so fortunate. Having exactly two undefeated teams like Texas and USC is the only possible way the BCS ever does work!

Of course, just using the polls and common sense would give us precisely the same match-up. Ironically, the BCS just proved in another way that it serves very little purpose to college football fans.

• Although Texas and USC are playing for invites to the national championship, one could argue that there is no bigger game all season than Army-Navy. Every year it truly is quite a spectacle regardless of team records or final scores.

We owe it to our brave men and women around the world serving and protecting us to at least catch a glimpse of it, knowing that this game means so much to them.

With both teams having beaten Air Force this season, it takes on even greater proportions, as the Commander-In-Chief Trophy is up for grabs.

Predictions: Army and Navy Over 50 1/2; Virginia Tech -14 vs. Florida State. Hopefully USC loses to UCLA.

• The National Football League's Week 13 is lucky for its fans with huge divisional games matching first- and second-place teams. Sunday the must-sees are Dallas at the New York Giants, Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, Atlanta at Carolina and Denver at Kansas City.

Predictions: Cincinnati +3 1/2 and Over 43.

• It's not often lately that there is a prize fight worth paying even some attention to, but Saturday's rematch between Jermain Taylor and Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas should be a good one.

Taylor (24-0, 17 knockouts) defends his WBA, WBC and WBO middleweight titles against Hopkins (46-3-1, 32 KOs ) whom he beat in a split decision last July 16. Before running into Taylor, Hopkins had defended his titles 20 consecutive times.

Prediction: This fight could end up in another close decision, so the bet is on the Over in rounds.

• There is nothing like the autumn season when the leaves fall and there is the sound of Dick Vitale in the air. As its fans already know, college basketball is here again.

If you follow college hoops, you know that it's a moneymaker, especially during March Madness time. But right now it's tough to get excited about or bet on it, because it is so early.

One thing to get enthusiastic about locally though, is University of Nevada basketball, ranked 22nd in the nation going into last night's game at Kansas. This team has the potential to be the best Wolf Pack team ever.