FOOTBALL

In the NFL, some major news.

First, the holdout is officially over for Darrelle Revis.  Revis has refused to play this season because he felt he was being grossly underpaid.  He’s the best cornerback in the league and they were paying him essentially a rookie wage.  After many long weeks, the Jets finally came to terms with Revis giving him a 4-year $46 million dollar contract.  This is a fantastic deal and should keep the star cornerback happy this season.  Plus, the Jets sorely need him if they intend to make a legitimate Super Bowl run.

Elsewhere, in an opposite tone, the Chargers Vincent Jackson also decided to holdout, except San Diego isn’t budging.  Jackson may have overplayed his hand hear thinking he’s better than he actually is, and now… he’s definitely out for three games.  There was talk that Jackson might play for the Rams, but the Rams said they weren’t interested.  Because Jackson hasn’t been signed nor found a new home, it’s very likely that a clause in his contract will kick in not allowing him to play the first six games.  He may really have shot himself in the foot by not just showing up to practice.  We’ll see how this develops.

And Matt Leinart, well, he also got some bad news and then… some good news.  The Arizona Cardinals decided to release Leinart this weekend, shocking everyone, especially Leinart.  Leinart was poised to take over starting duties for Arizona this season.  He clearly didn’t imagine he wouldn’t even make the team.  Apparently there were some political issues between Leinart and head coach Ken Whisenhunt and that led to Leinart’s dismissal.  Well, Leinart found a new home pretty quickly, signing a 1-year deal with the Houston Texans.  Leinart will back-up Matt Schaub and take over for one of the best offenses in the NFL if there is ever an injury.

Finally, in college football, Sunday night gave us one of the best and most important games in quite a while.  It was #10 Virginia Tech vs. #3 Boise State, and here is why it was a big deal:  Boise State gets very few opportunities to play major conference powerhouses.  They usually go undefeated, but never get the opportunity to compete for the National Championship because people think they have a weak schedule.  However, major teams are afraid to play them because if they lose, it severely tarnishes their own Championship run.  Well, Virginia Tech took that risk.  If Boise State were to lose the game, they would be immediately out of the National Championship conversation, and it would set back small conference schools many years.  If they win, it shows that they are utterly for real, and that smaller conference teams actually should be considered in Championship discussions.  So how did it play out?

Boise State got out to a commanding 17-0 lead, but then Virginia Tech battled back behind the superb play of running-back Ryan Williams and incredible arm of their quarterback Tyrod Taylor.  But, the hero of the evening was Boise State’s Heisman Candidate QB — Kellen Moore. Trailing by 4 with just over a minute to play in the game, Kellen Moore tossed a beautiful touchdown pass to Austin Pettis in the back of the end zone.  Amazing!  VT had one more chance, but couldn’t get it done, and Boise State sealed their reputation as a team to be reckoned with.  Boise State 33, Virginia Tech 30.