The “pre-preseason” rankings that the pundits have been churning out earlier and earlier each year may have sod-all to do with how teams are ranked at the end of the season — or even, for that matter, in the first “official” preseason polls in August — but they do give some indication as to which teams will be the trendy picks through spring and summer. That goes for national-title favorites as well as the “sleeper” teams supposedly poised to present the big boys with their biggest challenges.Yesterday we sifted through some of 2010’s earliest ranking attempts and noticed a handful of teams that seemed to be getting repeated mentions in strata somewhat more rarefied than where we’ve become accustomed to seeing them

The plan to build a great lawn leading up to liberty bowl stadium hit a speed bump Tuesday.

Monday served as the first day of spring practices for Oklahoma’s football team. That means the Sooners officially start the post Bradford era on offense, even though you can argue that happened a long time ago

While I am thankful for the fact that Spencer Hall regarded the arrest as bureaucratic and mundane after the fashion of most such arrests of Bulldog players, the fact that Zach Mettenberger was arrested over the weekend merely adds to my conviction that University of Georgia athletics should be declared a federal disaster area.

NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L OT Pts GF GA Pittsburgh 40 22 4 84 211 189 New Jersey 38 23 3 79 169 154 Philadelphia 34 26 4 72 195 173 N.Y. Rangers 29 28 9 67 170 179 N.Y. Islanders 26 31 8 60 169 206 Northeast Division W L OT Pts GF GA Buffalo 35 20 9 79 174 161 Ottawa 36 25 5 77 181 189 Montreal 32 29 6 70 178 185 Boston 29 24 11 69 157 164 Toronto 20 33 12 52 168 220 Southeast …

Proud programs on hard times. Other teams have fallen harder in terms of wins of losses, but in relative terms, no established program ended the last decade further from where it began than Florida State, which went from national championship mainstay — the ‘Noles played in three straight BCS title games from 1998-2000, the tail end of their 14-year run with at least 10 wins and a top-five finish in the polls — to perpetual ACC also-ran almost overnight. That path is well chronicled since FSU’s last conference championship in 2005, but with three disappointing 7-6 seasons and zero major bowl appearances in the last four years, the vast majority of today’s recruits literally cannot remember Florida State as a national power

Dallas Morning News sports writer Gerry Fraley answered your Cowboys and Rangers questions this week. Some highlights: On whom he thinks the Cowboys are targeting in the first round: “Safety Earl Thomas of Texas, but they would have to move up from No

Fred Jones is well aware of the significance of his Southern Heritage Classic to the City of Memphis and the participants in the annual football game at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium — Tennessee State and Jackson State.But every once in a while, it’s good to get a pat on the back from someone else.Jones, who founded the Classic 20 years ago, got that recognition Thursday morning in Nashville …

Assessing the fall’s most intriguing players, in no particular order. Today: Sophomore Tennessee safety Janzen Jackson. • Typecasting

On December 30, 2009 about 4,000 people turned out to watch the 22nd annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl Pro Rodeo at the Agricenter Show Place Arena.