Do you have all sorts of disposable income... say millions of dollars... handy? Then how about jumping on the latest trend: launching your own professional football league.

Last week, organizers announced plans to launch the United National Football League in January of 2009. The league wants to serve as a minor league for the NFL.

The UNFL joins two other leagues, the All-American Football Conference and the United Football League, in planning to launch within the next calendar year.

But don't go looking for a favorite team to latch onto just yet.

Do you know who Jay Berwanger is? He was the number one draft pick for the Philadelphia Eagles. No, not this year...but back in 1936 during the first NFL Draft. Berwanger was also the first Heisman Trophy winner in 1935. He was from the University of Chicago.

The NFL Draft has become one of the biggest days of the year for Pro Football fans. It's fun to see where the big time college stars are going to go. I think Jonathan Stewart is going to do well with Carolina and have a terrific NFL Career...and I also feel that Pittsburgh is a good fit for Dennis Dixon.

Here's another interesting draft tid bit. The great Johnny Unitas was also drafted by the Steelers. He went in the 9th round in 1955. He was cut before he threw one NFL pass.
Unitas was playing sandlot football for six dollars a game when he was signed to the Baltimore Colts for 17-thousand dollars on a make the team basis. He not only made the team but went on to be considered by many as the greatest qb of all time.

By the way, Berwanger never played in the NFL. According to the Eagles Encyclopedia...he had a business degree and thought he could make more money in the real world. The Bears bought his signing rights for 16-thousand dollars but Berwanger wanted a two year deal for 25 grand. The Bears thought it was too much so Berwanger never played. Berwanger started his own company manufacturing rubber and plastic parts and became a wealthy man. He said he never regretted the decision.

Draft day is great...but it's just the start.

What a fickle business the NFL is. On this day two years ago, Shaun Alexander had just become highest paid running back in history, and was talking all about a return trip to the Super Bowl.

Today, Shaun Alexander is unemployed.

The Seahawks officially cut the former MVP, two years removed from their Super Bowl run, and two years after signing him to a monster contract.

The move may surprise some fans, but was expected by football insiders. The NFL is a "what have you done for me lately?" league.

Blame injuries, a changing offensive line, or whatever you want, but Alexander ain't done much for the Seahawks of late.

In 2005, Alexander led the NFL with 1,880 yards rushing and 28 touchdowns. Compare that to his last two seasons combined, where he racked up only 1,612 yards and 12 touchdowns.

It's sad that Alexander's career in Seattle ended with such a thud, but this is how things are done in the NFL. The Hawks signed Julius Jones and TJ Duckett in free agency to revive their running game, making Alexander very expendable.

There isn't a lot of job security if you're an NFL back.

With the draft this weekend... there's talk about Darren McFadden and where he'll go. A lot of the talk is about how you can find running backs in the lower rounds and turn them into stars.

Let's not forget that Alexander himself was a low first round pick, and quickly supplanted Ricky Waters in the Seahawks backfield.

In other Seahawks news, don't be "shocked" if the Seahawks land Shockey. Word out of New York is that Seattle has entered the Jeremy Shockey sweepstakes, battling it out with the Saints to possibly trade for the Tight End.

Much like Alexander, Shockey became expendable when somebody else (Western Oregon's Kevin Boss in this case) came along.

It was a great night at the Rose Garden. The Blazers beat the Grizzlies 113-91 to assure themselves at least a 500 record. They are 41-40 with one more at Phoenix on Wednesday.

Travis Outlaw with a pair of amazing dunks at the end capped it all off and sent the fans home waiting to see more next season.

Blazer fans are lucky, they have a young talented team of great guys to cheer for...and they are going to get even better in the years to come. Near the end of the game...with the Blazers up big....one by one the starters left to a standing ovation. It was a very nice gesture by the fans...and the team deserved it. The Blazers finished 28-13 at the Rose Garden, their best home record in six seasons..."We're just trying to bring Blazer Mania back...I think we started it this year and keep building it every year," said Blazer Forward LaMarcus Aldridge.

Yes, just imagine..opening night 2008...and Greg Oden at Center. I talked to the big man after the game tonight...and he told me, "It was very exciting knowing that the next home game I'll be playing in Hopefully."

It's been a long time coming Blazer fans, enjoy it, because from the front office down...The Blazers are Winners!

What a weekend at the Masters. Trevor Immelman leads start to finish at beats the legendary Tiger Woods by three shots. Everyone was waiting for Tiger to make a big move...but the conditions on the course were so difficult. Tiger didn't play badly....only four golfers in the field scored better in the final round. Immelman played well all week and it was his time to win.

It takes skill and sometimes a little bit of luck...and Immelman had both at the Masters. During the third round...he had his approach on the par 5 15th backup toward the water...but somehow it found a small flat spot and stopped. It probably saved him two shots. His winning margin was just three.

It's hard to say how he would have reacted if Tiger could have gotten close. It was still a very entertaining afternoon of Major Championship golf.

By the way, did you catch Lorena Ochoa. She won the LPGA Tournament by 11 shots and she did it in her home country of Mexico. Ochoa has won four of her five starts this season.

We're about to start one of the best events in the world of sports, though it's becoming more and more of a secret in the U.S.

The NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs start tonight, with four of the first round matchups dropping the puck. In all, 16 teams will battle for the right to hold one of the oldest trophies in sports. FYI, a quick wikipedia check tells me that the Stanley Cup was named for Lord Frederick Stanley, who served as Governor General of Canada back in the day. He donated the original cup as an award to Canada's top amateur hockey team.

There is nothing like playoff hockey, in which every goal seems to up the tension in a game. All that talk about getting higher seeds means nothing. It's not uncommon for an #8 to beat a #1.

Even better is a playoff game that goes to overtime. First goal wins the game, which goes until somebody scores. The tension goes up with every shot on goal.

But good luck finding these games on your TV during the week (NBC is showing weekend games). Gone are the days of playoff double headers on ESPN, replaced by who knows what on the Versus Network. Myself and many others don't get Versus. Many people that get it don't even know they do. Since returning from the lockout that killed an entire season, the NHL has... in TV terms... dropped off the proverbial sports map.

We all know...it's about winning games, right? And today, OSU named Craig Robinson their new head basketball coach. Nowhere to go but up, right? I'm not gonna be a critic here and judge the guy already! I know, you know, and he knows what needs to be accomplished. So, let's just let him get his feet wet, find a house to buy, learn about the valley a little more, etc. Then, we can judge him once he rolls up the sleeves and gets to work! Too many internet message boards are crucifying the guy already! Robinson may not have been OSU's first, second, or third choice.....but he sure sounded like a likable guy. And from everything I've heard from guys over on the right coast....he's a motivator! Does any team west of the Mississippi need motivating more than the Beavs right now? I'm glad Bob DeCarolis shyed away from PSU's Ken Bone too. As a Viking alum, I'm thrilled he'll be back in on the Park Blocks! As I see it, it's a "win win" for both OSU and PSU today!

However, none us know how to quit when we're ahead either, so we decided to give it another go with Baseball.

So, out came the crystal balls and tea leaves... again.

Here are our division and wild card picks for the 2008 MLB season.

It's a great time to be a basketball fan. First, there is the NCAA Tournament. Second, the NBA season is winding down...and getting better every week. Let's face facts, this is the best time of the season to follow the NBA. The really good teams are trying to position themselves for the Playoffs and the post season is where they step it up a notch.

A week ago I went to the Blazers-Suns game as a fan. It was great fun. The Suns won the game and Shaq looked about as good as I've seen him in a long time. Phoenix is starting to put it together. Also, I'm headed to Seattle with my son to see the Blazers game with the Sonics. I bought some 25 dollar tickets...300 level...center court. It's going to be a blast.

The NCAA tournament has been great so far. Terrific finish to the Stanford game...with a last second shot in overtime. How about Kevin Love? He was fantastic down the stretch against Marquette for UCLA. Kevin did it on both ends of the floor with 7 blocks and the two picture perfect fadeaway jumpers. Wow! I've got UCLA, Stanford, Washington St. and Kansas as the final four in my Tournament bracket. UCLA over Kansas in the final.

Let the Madness continue. By the way, I've got to get up in a few hours to watch the end of the PGA tournament on the Golf Channel.

I love sports. Have a great week.

What's up? Welcome to the second round. You may notice there aren't as many teams here with you. Expect that trend to continue as you get deeper into the tournament.

--Got to start with Duke. I won't shed any tears for the Blue Devils. They really should have lost in the first round. However, all the credit does go to West Virginia, who played like gangbusters to pull off the upset.

--You should have heard Joe Becker during the Stanford game. He almost blew the roof off of the newsroom when the Cardinal nailed that buzzer beater. Joe has Stanford reaching the final four in our newsroom brackets, which of course are played only for entertainment and educational purposes.

--Everyone in our newsroom asks me how my brackets are doing. My answer is simple. I didn't fill out any. I'm not putting myself in any position where I might have to think about rooting against Washington State.

--Speaking of which, if you coach young basketball players, and want to inspire them to play defense, show them The Cougs against Notre Dame. The Irish averaged 80+ points a game this season, but only managed 41 against WSU. The Cougs imposed their will, making Notre Dame throw up ugly shot after ugly shot. The Irish shot 24.5% from the field. Defense does indeed win championships.

--So do awesome players. Kevin Love took over the game, giving UCLA the win over a very game Texas A&M squad, which actually lead for most of the contest. In a weekend that saw OJ Mayo and Michael Beasley get knocked out early, the big man from Lake Oswego is now the freshman of note in this tournament.

--Take that Bobby Knight. First, his champion pick Pittsburgh gets bounced by Michigan State. Then, after bagging on the Pac-10 Friday, he watches 3 of its teams punch their tickets to the sweet 16.

I didn't get to watch as many games on Friday as I did Thursday. Stupid job getting in the way of watching sports!!!

--I'll get to the Ducks first. Sorry Oregon fans, but you live by the 3, you crash and burn with it too. The Ducks went 9 for 32 from behind the arch, and missed 16 straight in the second half. Ernie Kent must either diversify his personnel, or his style. Relying on perimeter shooting can only get you so far, because your shooters can go ice cold at the wrong time.

--Like upsets? We saw plenty of them Friday, enough to make up for the real lack of them on Thursday.

--Speaking of upsets... What was in the water down in Tampa? Two 12 and two 13 seeds won their games. All four games at the St. Pete Times Forum were of the surprise finish variety. It sets up two 12-13 matchups on Sunday.

--How are your brackets doing? If you told me you made it through the first round at 100%, I would call you a liar, or a very lucky fool.

--After all the talk of who should get into the tournament between Arizona, Oregon, and Arizona St, are the Sun Devils actually getting the better end of the deal? They're in the NIT's 3rd round, while the Ducks and Wildcats are watching at home now.

--The tournament is an evil beast. The field of 65 is now down to 32.

The Big Dance is in full swing, with the first day of action in the books. Not a whole lot of upsets Thursday, but much of the action made me look forward to Saturday. Here are just some random thoughts from day #1.

--The PSU Vikings showed they do indeed belong in the NCAA Tournament. But even with all that heart, there's a huge difference between the Big Sky and the Big 12, and it showed. Kansas looked very much like a number 1 seed.

--What a game played by Belmont. They really looked like a top team against Duke. I really think they lost the game in the possession BEFORE Gerald Richardson made the go ahead basket. Instead of making sure they extended their lead, and forcing Duke to take a three, they went with the milk the clock strategy. Instead of getting a good shot, they got a horrible one, which let Duke go for a layup that won it.

--Mississippi Valley State's most famous alumni, Jerry Rice, probably wouldn't have been much help against UCLA. Kevin Love and company dropped 10 touchdowns on the 16 seed.

--Need proof basketball is a team sport? Look at the hype surrounding OJ Mayo and Michael Beasley heading into their game. But Beasley got into foul trouble, leading teammate Bill Walker to steal the show. Beasley may have lead his team in scoring, but the game belonged to Walker and Kansas St, as Beasley watched a lot of the action from the bench.

--Did anyone else feel smarter while watching Cornell vs. Stanford, or was it just me?

--A good basketball tip for you youngsters out there. Holding your opponent to 11 points in the second half is a very good formula for winning ball games. My Cougs definitely put the clamps down on Winthrop. If they can keep that defensive level up, they'll make a very deep run. One Winthrop player said he and his teammates were getting good looks at the basket. He apparantly was watching a different game than I was.

--Winthrop's 11 points in one half looks horrible, but Kent St. managed to beat them by one, shooting for a measly 10 in the first half against UNLV. Insert your own Las Vegas crime joke here.

--It looks like Georgia finally ran out of gas against Xavier. But they deserve props for winning the SEC tournament despite all those obstacles. Double headers work in baseball... not so much in basketball.

What did you think of all the action?

I'll see you tomorrow.

So the countdown is on to the NCAA Tournament. I write this on Wednesday, now less than 24 hours away from the big dance. To be honest, it took a lot of self control to not max out my credit card and make the trip to Denver to watch the Cougs in the first couple of rounds.

However, the basketball tournaments have already started. The NIT, a good second tournament for those bubble teams who didn't make the big dance, tipped off last night. So did something called the College Basketball Invitational.

I did a double take at that name, but eventually remembered reading something about it at the start of the season. The CBI is a brand new 16 team tournament that invites schools that don't make the NCAA or the NIT.

Math time: There are 65 teams in the NCAA Tournament. The NIT adds another 32. That's a total of 97. So as Tony Kornheiser said it, these CBI teams are playing to be the 98th best team in the country.

This is just plain silly. Do we really need another tournament? The NIT is a great second tier tournament, allowing bubble teams to mix up with schools who had good seasons, but play in what are normally 1 NCAA bid conferences. It's can be a great launching pad for the winners and has been around since 1938.

However, the folks behind this CBI tournament should really have focused their efforts elsewhere, like a Division 1 football playoff.

I was in the office this afternoon...excited about the NCAA selection show...and watching the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Tiger Woods was on 18 with a birdie to win just inside 25 feet. Before he putted...I thought back to some of the magical moments that Tiger has etched in our minds. A few moments later...there was another.

Tiger made the putt...that curled into the hole for another victory. Woods is now 3-0 on tour this season...and has won five straight Tour events since September. It was also his 64th tour win tying the great Ben Hogan. Tiger Woods now has more career wins than Palmer himself. Arnie had 62.

Hogan won 9 majors...and his first was the 1946 PGA Championship, which was held at Portland Golf Club. Hogan had just turned 34. Tiger has 13 professional Majors and is only 32.

Jack Nicklaus is next on the list with wins at 73 and Sam Snead has 82. At this rate, Tiger will pass jack this season...and who knows, could have 16 or 17 majors by the end of this season.

Tiger is special...and enjoy watching now...because there may NEVER be another player as good.

Okay Oregon Duck fans, I promise not to gloat after my Washington State Cougars knocked you out of the Pac-10 Tournament last night (okay, maybe just this once - to quote Nelson from "The Simpsons": HA HA!!!!).

That being said, the loss probably has a lot of you worried. It should. There is no further chance to pad the proverbial resume with wins. Worse, the Ducks no longer control their own destiny, which means they're at the mercy of the basketball powers that be.

However, when the dust clears on Selection Sunday, I do think Oregon will hear its name called, and get an invite to the Big Dance. You can look all the tough losses, the strength of schedule, and all the other numbers that you want. Some look good for the Ducks... others not so much.

But when it boils down to it, Oregon will be one of the 34 best at-large teams who did not win their conference's automatic bids. That is how the selection committee will decide... the numbers are just a small part of it.

As a neutral observer, I don't believe you can look at Villanova, Dayton, Florida State, Temple, New Mexico, Va Tech, or any of the other so called "Bubble" teams and say they're better than Oregon. That is not a knock on those teams. I just don't think they're as good as the Ducks.

However, even if they do make it, the Ducks are probably getting a lower seed like a 10 or 11. So their trip to the dance could easily end with the metaphorical slap from their date early in the night. We'll see.

Until Selection Sunday.... GO COUGS!!!!!!!!! (Sorry, I just couldn't resist)