So it's one of those days where I have a bunch of random thoughts from the sports world bouncing around my brain, but nothing really worth of writing an entire article on. So I'm going to pass them along to you and give you some things to contemplate as you jump start your weekend.

The 2009 NFL Season:

It's officially underway! Last night's game wasn't exactly riveting, but with those 2 defenses going at it, I guess it wasn't expected to be. Neither team looked particularly overwhelming to me and I don't think we're going to see any teams just destroy everybody in their path this season. That whole parity thing the league so desires is starting to come around more and more.

Fantasy Football:

Yup, a new NFL season means another year of fantasy football, and all the regrets that come with it. I'm in 3 leagues once again this year after telling myself I'd limit it to two, and I even turned down about 4 other offers to join leagues as it turns out. Even the casual football fans who don't live and breathe this stuff seem to be all about getting in on the fantasy action. It took exactly one game for me to already swear at my decision making for my teams as I had Willie Parker (19 yards) starting, and Santonio Holmes (9 receptions, 131 yards, 1 TD) on the bench. It's going to be a looooong year.

Madden Curse:

Tell me this thing isn't real??? Brett Favre has certainly been a curse since last year's cover, but we'll talk more about that in a minute. Last night, Troy Polamalu came out of the gates on fire, seemingly involved in almost every play and making a ridiculous interception as well. Then he goes down with what looks to be a serious knee injury. Preliminary reports have him missing 3-6 weeks. Speaking of fantasy football, owners of Larry Fitzgerald (myself included) reading this right now are cringing at the prospects of what may happen.

Brett Favre:

I seriously can't recall wanting somebody to just go away more than Favre right now. When he originally retired from Green Bay, I had a great deal of respect for him and his accomplishments. I never really was a big fan or anything, because frankly, I just didn't care much about the Packers one way or another. However, that respect has completely diminished at this point and he's quickly become one of my least favorite players in the league. As if the retiring/coming back flip flop saga where he couldn't keep himself out of the spotlight wasn't bad enough, now he's got to make sure even more people are talking about them as we head into the start of the season. Essentially, Favre seems to be blaming the NY Jets as an organization for his absolutely horrendous performance down the stretch last year. Claiming that the team new of his torn bicep muscle and that he "offered" to sit out those last few games.

I guess New York just forced him out on to the field and made him throw those 9 interceptions in the last 5 games... Seriously, if you're legitimately injured and don't think you can play well enough to be out there, then you sit on the bench. Favre never had any intention of this despite what he says now and his streak means way too much to him. Now he's claiming he's not sure he can make it through the entire season this year. Sounds a lot like he just wants a built in excuse for when he inevitably sucks horribly at some point this year. Congrats Vikings, you took a possible playoff team and turned it into a sideshow circus that is going to be a detriment to your organization in the long run.

Allen Iverson:

So Iverson finally signed with Memphis this week, doing so apparently because God told him to. Hey Allen, did God also tell the other 29 teams in the NBA to have absolutely no interest in you? Seriously, I have no clue what Memphis is thinking here. They've struggled for awhile now, but they really do have a good nucleus of young talent in place that just needs to grow a bit and have time to gel together. Iverson undermines all that completely. I've never been an Iverson fan at all, and actually couldn't stand him when he first joined the NBA, but I grew to respect him as he seemed to have matured and unquestionably played hard every night. He's regressing however. Denver got instantly better without him and Detroit imploded with him. Iverson's biggest problem is that he always has a chip on his shoulder. He's 34 now and clearly in decline skill wise after the years of beating he's taken going to the basket relentlessly. There's nothing wrong with that and he can still fill a useful role for many teams. However, he still seems to think he is as good as he was when he was 25, and that's where the problem is created. I see Iverson out to prove a point this year and he's going to be jacking up shots at a Kobe Bryant 05-06 level. At any rate, it's going to be yet another ugly year in Memphis.

ACC Football:

There has been much discussion of late as to how poor the ACC has gotten as a football conference. It's true that they did not look to good in the opening week, going 5-7, including 2 losses to FCS teams. They're still a far better conference than the Big East however, which somehow still gets an automatic BCS bid, which just proves how flawed that system truly is. Apparently for the ACC though, things change when they play each other. So far there have been two games between conference foes and both have been nothing short of highly entertaining. Last night Georgia Tech managed to take down Clemson 27-24 in the closing seconds of the game, after having lead 24-0 at one point. On Labor Day, Miami and Florida St. created a buzz with a very exciting 38-34 game which saw the Hurricanes take away the win and bragging rights. Both teams showed flashes of the old brilliance the programs are noted for and have many thinking they may be on their way back to prominence after several down years.

I will say that as a Miami fan, it was nice to have something to feel this good about to start off the season. While many of the national powers have multiple cupcakes to begin their year, Miami scheduled 4 straight Top 20 opponents. Taking out #1 rival FSU was a great confidence boost heading into games against Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma. The bigger confidence boost however is that Sophomore QB Jacory Harris looked like the real deal Monday night in Tallahassee. The question is what that just because of the complete lack of solid defense played by both teams, or because he really is that good. We shall see soon enough.

At any rate, while the ACC might not be able to keep up with the SEC, Big 12, or even the Pac 10 right now, there is a lot of great, highly competitive football being played within the conference. Living smack in the middle of ACC Country allows me to see a great deal of it, and while this will always be a basketball first league, Saturdays in the Fall can keep you entertained as well.