When I was growing up, my favorite sports (in this order) were baseball, basketball and then football. I think the baseball influence came from my dad who really loved the game. I was a big baseball stats freak when I was kid and loved the history of the game.
Basketball was the game that I loved to play the most, and because of that, as I grew older, it gradually became my favorite sport. I loved its history as well.
Football was my least favorite. I wasn't big enough or aggressive enough to play organized football, but I still followed it and liked to watch it. But it didn't approach my love of baseball and basketball.
But as the years passed, and like with so many other things, my interests changed. Baseball has faded for me, although I still like to read about the game's history. Right now, I'm re-reading the "Summer of '49" by David Halberstam about the Yankees-Red Sox pennant race from 1949. Nothing changes. They were fighting for the pennant, even then.
I still like basketball a lot, but for some reason, the game -- at least to me -- has become somewhat tedious. I don't know -- maybe too many timeouts, too many turnovers, too many missed three pointers, just too much stoppage in action. The games at times don't seem to have a lot of flow. I hate to say this because I am in television, but quite possibly, the overexposure of television has made the game less appealing to me.
All that being said, it brings me back to football, which is now the season to which I look most forward. I really love the fall and the start of football. Maybe because it boils down to three days: high schools on Friday, the colleges on Saturday and then the pros on Sunday. I find myself, each year at this time, really anticipating and looking forward to the start of football. It has become my favorite sport. (I do hope the new rule changes will make the games somewhat shorter.)
Sept. 2 is the first full Saturday of the college season. And six days out, I am here with my ACC predictions for the coming season. Predictions are always fun because anybody can do it and everybody has one. And the thing of it is, they don't make a bit of difference because no one ever knows until they play the game.
So here you go:.
The ACC's Coastal Division:
1. Miami
2. Virginia Tech
3. Georgia Tech
4. North Carolina
5. Virginia
6. Duke
In the Coastal Division, it's hard to pick against Miami. There is always talent there, but the team that was supposed to dominate the ACC when it entered two years ago has yet to win the league title. Virginia Tech is always solid, but will they find a quarterback? Georgia Tech has a quarterback with experience, but Reggie Ball has yet to prove he's more than just OK. I think Carolina is better than the rest, but don't you think it's about time for John Bunting's team to at least win seven games? Poor Duke. Who would make out a schedule that has them playing Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Alabama, Florida State and Miami all in row?
The ACC's Atlantic Division:
1. Florida State
2. Clemson
3. N.C. State
4. Boston College
5. Wake Forest
6. Maryland
I really debated putting Florida State ahead of Clemson. In the end, I wimped out and went with the easy pick, but FSU of this decade has been nowhere near the team of the last decade. They don't scare you anymore. I really like Clemson, but they do have to play at Florida State, and it's a September game. Tommy Bowden's team always seems to be better as the season goes on, so I do have to go with Florida State in that game. Each year I buy into N.C. State and will again. Maybe the lack of hype with will work in their favor. I've seen the dire predictions from others, but I believe the Pack has athletes and a schedule that will probably put them in a bowl game. Really, this entire division is a guessing game. I mean Wake Forest has more experience returning than anyone.
My pick to win the ACC Championship? I have to go with someone, so why not FSU. I may not even pick them to win at Miami on Labor Day but the season is long and the champs are the champs, until proven otherwise.
Enjoy the season everybody.
