Weekend Preview

Arizona State will take on Georgia tomorrow, in what is the biggest game for the Sun Devils thus far this season. ASU comes in with a 2-0, while Georgia comes in with a record of 2-1. The Sun Devils have played two cupcake games in Idaho St. and Louisiana Monroe, while the Bulldogs have played at Oklahoma State, Arkansas, and South Carolina. This is the first time ASU is playing a non-conference road game since 2006, when they played in Colorado. If ASU wants to win they will have to play a near perfect game on both sides of the ball.

The biggest challenge for ASU will be how they move the ball against a Georgia defense that has struggled mightily so far this year. In their last two games, the Bulldogs have allowed a combined 78 points. The problem is I don't think ASU's offense is that good. Sure they've put up 88 points in their two games this year, but that was against garbage teams in Idaho State and Louisiana-Monroe. Sun Devil quarterback Danny Sullivan will make his first career start on the road, in a hostile SEC environment. The fact that he's inexperienced doesn't bode well for the Devils, who will need to have great leadership if they want to win. If the Sun Devil defense can limit Georgia's offense, I think ASU has a chance to win. If it turns into an offensive oriented game, then Georgia will win easily. When it comes down to it, I simply don't see ASU making the plays to win this game. I think Georgia will win easily.

Other college football games of note this weekend include #9 Miami at #11 Virginia Tech, #6 Cal at Oregon, and Iowa at #5 Penn State.

The Dodgers magic number to clinch the National League West Division is four games. The boys in blue are in Pittsburgh this weekend for a three-game series with the Pirates.

Weekend Wrap

Arizona State defeated Louisiana-Monroe 38-14 last night to improve to 2-0 on the year. ASU now faces their biggest test of the year, as they play #21 Georgia in Athens this Saturday. I don't think ASU has a chance to win this game, but then again I didn't think Washington had a chance to beat USC, and look how that turned out.

Make it four years in a row that USC has lost to a pathetic Pac-10 team. The Trojans were upset by the Washington Huskies yesterday 16-13 in Seattle. What a difference a year makes. Last year Washington won a grand total of ZERO games. So far this year they are 2-1, with one of the wins coming against SC. Apparently top 25 voters think Washington's win was no fluke, since the Huskies are now ranked #24 in the country. USC fell from #3 to #12.

The Dodgers took two of three games from the San Francisco Giants this weekend. The Dodgers finished the season series with the Giants, and won 11 out of the 18 games played played between the two this year. The Dodgers still lead the National League West by five games, with 12 games left to play.

I'm trying to convince my dad to take a father-son trip to Boston next year, because the Dodgers will be playing the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Fenway Park is one of the three ballparks I've always wanted to visit, with Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium being the other two. Hopefully it works out, it would truly be a dream come true to watch the Dodgers play at one of the most historic ballparks in baseball history.

This week is going to be hell. Two exams, and a ton of homework due by Wednesday night. Who would have thought I'd have so much work to do at Arizona State? Just kidding.... sort of.

Into The West

Arizona State is playing host to Louisiana-Monroe this Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium. I'm picking the Sun Devils to win, but I won't be surprised if they get upset, considering they are playing Georgia in Athens in a week and a half. The reason for me not having so much confidence in ASU is because last year they lost to UNLV the week before Georgia came to Tempe. I will be in the press box for the first time ever this Saturday. I usually sit in the student section, but since the sports director for The Blaze will be at a concert, I will be filling in as the role of the spotter for the guys who will be calling the game.

Tonight was the fourth episode of the year for my radio show "The Sports Lounge". I am on the show with two of my good friends every Tuesday night. I wasn't too pleased with tonight's show, especially since I felt that the past two shows were very good. I guess we all have our "off weeks". You can listen to The Sports Lounge by tuning in online at www.blazeradioonline.com every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. pacific time. We are working on having podcasts for our episodes.

Andre Ethier came through yet again for the Dodgers tonight, as he hit a two-run, walk-off home run. Ethier now has six game-winning hits on the year. The Blue Crew now lead the National League West by five games, and their magic number to clinch the division is 14.

We are 42 days away until the start of the World Champion Lakers' regular season.

For those of you who have a twitter or want to see what's going on in my world, check me out at

https://twitter.com/Josh_P_Green

You Talking About Soccer?

The Dodgers lead in the National League is now two and a half games after falling to the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 last night. The Colorado Rockies have won six in a row, and show no signs of letting up their fantastic play of late. The Dodgers have the day off before heading to San Francisco for a huge three-game series with the Giants. The Rockies play host to Cincinnati Reds before traveling to San Diego for the weekend to take on the Padres.

The USA Soccer team is one win away from clinching a spot in the World Cup. The U.S. beat Trinidad & Tobago 1-0 last night in a qualifying game. Ricardo Clark scored the lone goal for the U.S., who can clinch a trip to South Africa when they play Honduras on October 14th.

I never thought I'd say this, but recently I've been very into soccer. It took me long enough to realize that it's a fun sport to follow and watch on tv. My appreciation for soccer began over the summer, when I started watching Spanish League powerhouse FC Barcelona. They came to the United States to play some MLS teams, and ESPN televised the games. I got to watch players like Lional Messi, Thierry Henry, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. My personal favorite is Carlos Puyol, who is one of the best defenders in the world. I would also argue he has the best player of any soccer player I've seen. I'll say right now that I have pledged my allegiance to Barcelona. They'll be the soccer team I'll be rooting for from now on. Call me a bandwagon fan, but rooting for Barcelona gives me a legitimate reason to follow soccer.

ASU Football has the week off, but I'm looking forward to watching Ohio State vs USC, which is this Saturday at the Horseshoe.

The NFL season starts tonight, as the Pittsburgh Steelers will play host to the Tennessee Titans. All I have to say is football is back, so life finally matters again.

At Least We Won't Go Winless

The Arizona State Sun Devils opened up their 2009 season Saturday night with a 50-3 win over the Idaho State Bengals. The story of the night for the Devils was the defense. Senior linebacker Mike Nixon became the first Sun Devil in 20 years to have three interceptions, while the Sun Devil defense held Idaho State to just 37 total yards. Highly touted freshman Vontaze Burfict recovered a fumble in his Sun Devil debut.

Senior quarterback Danny Sullivan made his first career start, as he threw for 165 yards on 13-25 passing. Overall I wasn't too impressed with the ASU offense. Sure they accounted for 407 total yards, and sure they put up 50 points, but it was against Idaho State, who is one of the worst teams in the country. The fact that ASU had to settle for five field goals is a bit troubling. Last year ASU's biggest problem was not scoring touchdowns when in the red zone. I guess I can't have too high of expectations for this team, considering they were 5-7 last year.

When all is said and done, ASU is 1-0. The Devils have a bye this week and will return to action on September 19th when they play host to Louisiana Monroe. I'm hoping by this time next week ASU will have a better record than USC, who has to play at Ohio State this Saturday.