Sporting Madness

Sometimes, I get an idea in my head and can't get it out. This is one of those times. Here's how Will Muschamp's first press conference as the head coach at the University of Florida should have played out: (I know the transitions and such aren't perfect, but cut me some slack. I'm a writer, Jim, not a video editor!) [Thanks to Spencer Hall and Holly Anderson at Every Day Should Be Saturday for the inspiration .]

Despite my CFL duties , I’ve been following the NFL perhaps even more closely than usual this year thanks to writing a weekly picks column over at The Good Point . It’s been a pretty solid season so far, with lots of exciting games, great storylines and terrific playoff races, and there isn’t any shortage of things to write about on any front. However, there’s one lingering blot on the season that’s overshadowing many of the positive developments, and that’s the atrociousness of the NFC West. As Jon Bois wrote over at SB Nation a while back, the division has been terrible for almost its entire existence in its current 2002-on form, with its teams only recording a combined positive point differential once in that span (in 2003, and that wasn’t by much). This year might be a new low for the division, though, as all four of its teams are around the same degree of awful. With the San Francisco 49ers getting blown out 34-7 by the San Diego Chargers on Thursday Night Football tonigh...

After a 0-0 tie in Puerto Rico in the first leg of their USSF-II semifinal, the Vancouver Whitecaps have returned home ( on the same flight as the Islanders ) for the rematch. They take on Puerto Rico today at 4 p.m., and I'll be live-blogging it from Vancouver's Swangard Stadium. Wes Knight is back in the lineup, which should give the Whitecaps a boost, but facing the Islanders in an elimination game is never easy. Check out game previews from Marc Weber , Ben Massey , Simon Fudge and Bruce Constantineau , then come join me at 4 for the game! Whitecaps - Islanders: Leg II

After narrowly surviving the Portland Timbers in the first round of the USSF-2 playoffs, the Vancouver Whitecaps hope to continue their run against the Puerto Rico Islanders, who upset top-seeded Rochester in the first round. Game One is today at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific in Puerto Rico. The Whitecaps are webcasting it , and it will be live-blogged here (as long as the webcast's working; Puerto Rico isn't on their usual ground, and I know Rochester had some issues trying to get a webcast from the temporary ground). To get ready for this one, check out the game previews from Ben Massey , Marc Weber , Simon Fudge and Bruce Constantineau . After looking through those, come join me for the live blog below! Vancouver Whitecaps - Puerto Rico Islanders

The Vancouver Whitecaps have a 2-0 aggregate lead heading into the second leg of their USSF Division II playoff series in Portland today, but the Timbers aren't going to be an easy foe to dispatch. The game's at 9 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. Pacific) tonight, and will be streamed through the Whitecaps' website . I'll be live-blogging it here and at The 24th Minute . Check out the previews from Marc Weber , Bruce Constantineau , Simon Fudge and Ben Massey , and then come join me at 6 for the live blog! Vancouver Whitecaps - Portland Timbers

I'll be live-blogging tonight's Vancouver Whitecaps - Portland Timbers USSF-II playoff game from the Swangard Stadium press box. It should be a good one, as this rivalry's always interesting on its own and the playoff atmosphere should only add to that. Kickoff is set for 10:30 p.m. Eastern/7:30 p.m. Pacific, and you can watch the game on the Whitecaps' site here . Come join me then! Vancouver Whitecaps - Portland Timbers

Canada’s two USSF-2 teams start their playoff campaigns this week with home-and-home series. Montreal got off on the right foot Wednesday, beating the Austin Aztex 2-0 thanks to an Ali Gerba brace . Meanwhile, Vancouver will face their long-time rivals from Portland in a two-game series starting tonight at Swangard Stadium (10:30 p.m. Eastern: I’ll be live-blogging from the stadium press box, and the game can be seen via streaming video at whitecapsfc.com ). Both teams are in slightly different situations, but they have some of the same concerns and will face some of the same challenges. For Montreal, putting the ball in the net consistently has been an issue for most of the year. Gerba was solid down the stretch run, scoring nine goals in his last seven regular-season games , but he didn’t score at all in the regular season before that. The Impact weren’t able to find much scoring depth, either, and their depth hasn’t shown up much at all lately. The 2-0 home win was a terrific st...