A showdown is brewing. Two unbeaten teams are ready to leave their aggression on the field this week. This battle of Big 12 teams promises to be much better than the matchup of a year ago. Everyone will be watching when the Oklahoma-Te…I mean, Iowa State-Nebraska contest kicks off Saturday. All right, so there is another big matchup the same day, but maybe some healthy athletes will play, unlike some people.

injurybugbites

Something just doesn’t seem right. Today’s athletes are supposed to be stronger and more conditioned than the sports professionals of the past. However, this last portion of games from the NFL has left many pros needing healing time.

Atlanta running back Jamal Anderson is expected to miss the rest of the season after messing up his knee. Oakland defensive end Trace Armstrong is said to be out for the year with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Injuries will also shorten the seasons of Warrick Dunn, Ricky Watters, Shawn Barber and rookie Dan Morgan.

It’s hard to say what is the main cause for this rash of injuries, or any others during a specific week. It could be the artificial turf, the stronger opponents or the chance to make that one bigger play.

One certainty is that injuries is to football these days as my golf shots are to water. One seems to be attracted to the other.

In the past, the lore was that players fought through their owies and made the effort to participate. Today, the doctors and equipment are efficient enough to know when time off becomes a necessity.

More and more, things are getting tweaked and pulled out of one place or another. With more major injuries being diagnosed at the present, football players must think that they’re trapped in a circle of pain.

This puts the fan in an unfortunate position of watching stars go down week by week. My view on this: I’m just one of those many unfortunate fans. Get well soon, fellas.

sournotes

It looks like my CD collection won’t include an album from an NBA star anytime soon. Philadelphia point guard and reigning league MVP Allen Iverson announced Monday that his rap CD, Non-Fiction, will not be released.

The Answer received criticism from the public as well as his ultimate boss, NBA commissioner David Stern. After releasing the single called “40 Bars” late last year, Stern met with Iverson and advised him to change the song’s harsh lyrics.

Now, after months of pushing back the album’s release date, Iverson said that he wants to focus on his family and basketball.

To tell the truth, I wasn’t really planning to get the CD. There is something that bugs me, though.

I’m of the opinion that people see Iverson as a hard-working athlete with a thuggish personality. While some hope that his off-court life doesn’t involve cursing and shootouts, I’m not sure that this is the best way for him to go.

I can understand that Stern saw this hobby of Iverson’s as a bad public relations move for the league. However, the 76ers star is just like any other rapper out there. If you have a problem with Iverson, the artist, don’t listen to his work, plain and simple.

I work at a paper, though, where First Amendment rights are a requirement to breathe. Another requirement for me is to be as insane as possible, which means another edition of…

absurdpredictions

Maybe you’re not the biggest fan of soccer, but right now is a big time for the original game of f£tbol. First, Major League Soccer is in the middle of its playoffs, with only four teams left to fight for the title.

No team is better right now than the San Jose Earthquakes, who dominated the Columbus Crew in the first round. I see San Jose shocking the top-seeded Miami Fusion in three games to get to the championship game.

In the other matchup, Chicago battles Los Angeles in a series of big names and even bigger cities. The Fire have the homefield advantage over its West Coast opponent, which will be the deciding factor in the series. Chicago beats the Galaxy in three.

In the one-game freefrall called the MLS Cup, Chicago gets out to an early lead. San Jose equalizes the contest about 30 minutes in, and the score will be 1-1 at the half. The Fire come out strong in the second half, but don’t get rewarded until they score with about 10 minutes left.

That will be enough for Chicago to run around the field singing “Ole!…Ole! Ole! Ole!” after winning the title.

Secondly, the U.S. National Team is playing for their World Cup lives as they host Jamaica Sunday.

The U.S. needs to win, and will, to stay above water in the race to qualify for the cup.

Final score, Rock and roll 4, Reggae 1.

Oh yeah, and if anyone cares about the ISU-Nebraska game, Huskers will win by 13.

A sad, but yet true, facet of the football world.

Jonathan Lowe is a senior in meteorology from Kansas City, Mo.