WATERCOOLER CHAT: NORTH TX CINDERELLA, JONES NEW HOME, OWENS AND OCHOCINCO?

BASKETBALL

Two words:  North Texas.  They have won 10 straight games in college basketball in the Sun Belt conference.  Last night, in the division championship game, North Texas was hoping to nab an automatic bid to the Big Dance.  All they had to do was get through Troy.  Well, it wasn’t an easy task, but behind a big night from a BIG man Eric Tramiel, the North Texas Mean Green (and yes, that’s their real team name) edged Troy for their 11th straight win.  This is important news because North Texas is a popular Cinderella candidate this year.  They might sneak up and win two rounds.  With the unpredictability of this season, that wouldn’t be too much of a surprise.  So perhaps pick North Texas in your office pool and look smart when they pull a first round upset.  North Texas 66, Troy 63.

FOOTBALL

Thomas JonesIn the NFL, it looks like running back journeyman Thomas Jones has found a new home.  Jones is known around the league as a ‘get-it-done’ back.  He’s not a popular guy to pick in fantasy drafts, but he does put up numbers.  He helped the Bears get to the Super Bowl in the 2006 season, and has been a terrific fit on the NY Jets (who no longer need him because they have second year man Shonn Greene).  But if you need a guy to move the ball down the field, and pick up those crucial ‘3rd down and 2’ situations, Jones is your man.  Now, he will help the Kansas City Chiefs hopefully turn around their offense.  The Chiefs lost Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson last year, but Jamaal Charles has come on strongly.  This tandem makes for a good one-two punch for the Chiefs.

Terrell OwensElsewhere in the NFL free agency market, some interesting meetings took place. First up, it looks like Terrell Owens is in search of a new home.  He took an interview with the Cincinnati Bengals.  They already have loud mouth Chad Ochocinco, but adding Owens into the mix gives them an interesting option on offense.  Having both of these playmakers could confuse defenses and enable the Bengals to be quite potent next season.  Plus, you would have the Top 2 “Kings of Touchdown Celebrations” on the same team.  Let’s hope this happens for entertainment value if nothing else.

And, in another interesting “talk”, LaDainian Tomlinson is finally meeting with his first suitor.  Sure, Tomlinson is definitely in the twilight of his career (a 9 year storied career that is), but he still has some use on the field because of the image he represents. Even though he’s not what he used to be, he still scares defenses when he’s in the offensive formation.  Well, the Minnesota Vikings know that BIG TIME.  They have Adrian Peterson, the best running back in the league, but they just lost his back-up Chester Taylor.  Adding Tomlinson to the mix gives them another strategic weapon that could be the difference maker if they can make it back to the NFC Championship again.


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