The great high school all-American game of the year happens Jan 9th.  at noon when at least six future Horns take part in the US Army All-American Bowl, covered by NBC. No expected new commits for Texas at the game but it will be a chance for fans to see a bunch of future Longhorns compete against top notch talent. The 10th Army All-American Bowl kicks off at 1pm in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas today representing one of the last college football fixes until the Spring games come around.

The most interesting commits to watch may be quarterback Connor Wood and running back Traylon Shead. In these wide open all-star games the quarterback (QB) and running back (RB) are two of the spots to see the best reflection of a players actual capabilties. Today will be a great chance to see what Shead, one of the most prolific running backs in the history of Texas high school football, from tiny Cayuga can do against the country’s best.

On the defensive side of the ball keep an eye out for defensive end Reggie Wilson and linebacker Tevin Jackson. Both players are superb athletes who can dance around the football field. With the higher number of passes in the game plans there will be lots of chances for Wilson to get after the quarterback.

Although only five Buckeye targets are playing in the US Army All-American Bowl, or six if Norwell is included, two of them plan to announce where they will be taking their extraordinary talents for the next few years or more.

The first defensive back Latwan Anderson from Glenville is considered to be the 18th best prospect nationally, rated by Rivals. Ginn Sr’s kids used to be Buckeye by default, but Cordale Scott and others have been bucking the trend lately. People are saying Anderson is going to Morgantown.

Meanwhile, Sharrif Floyd, the nation’s top defensive tackle prospect has been dropping clues all week. A five star defensive tackle at 6-foot-3, 310 pounds that would have helped against Alabama’s massive Crimson Line. Floyd is down to the Florida Gators and Ohio State. That’s what the hometown press in Philadelphia think, but at this point, it’s anybody’s guess with the guy that wants to surprise people. Also in consideration are: NC, SC, Penn State, Mount Union. These type of decisions make the US Army All-American Bowl one of the most exciting football games to watch starring younger players.

The nation’s best recruit, offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson, will be playing for the West, but isn’t expected to make a decision in the near future. Petey who was for a long time thought to be narrowed down to USC and Ohio State is heading to Seattle. Most say this is great news

St. X’s Matt James and Glennville’s Christian Bryant, both who remain undecided, can also find their way onto the 2010 class, depending on how things go in the All-American football game.

Matt Elam, the DB/RB is far from the best player in this game, but is perceived to be the best Florida high school player. After a verbal to Florida, verbal to FSU, Elam will do the ugly hat roulette with a Georgia hat thrown in for fun. Despite stories about what he said earlier this week, Elam will have some camera time to decide during the game.

Ronald Powell, the defensive end from California is choosing between two teams with coaching staffs in transition; Florida and USC. Unlike Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer does not appear to be going anywhere else for a while. Florida is seen as the probable choice here.

If you haven’t seen the game, go watch it online! Just search youtube for the US Army All-American Football Game 2010

American football is usually confused with European football. The difference between the two is greatly, but the same use of title can confuse others. The difference between American and European football is simple by definition. Football is used mostly with the hands to control the ball, and the European football is what most people call Soccer. In soccer, you kick the ball and they not allowed using their hands at all. By definition, football is when 11 players on a rectangular field 100 yards long. Teams try to steal/keep possession of the ball and move across the field to the other teams goal line by running a series of plays. European football or soccer is a game played with a round ball (not diamond shaped like American football).

Again, two teams of eleven players user their body to control the ball to pass the opponents goal line. Soccer is played dominantly with the feet, but can be controlled by other parts of the body like knees, chest, and head. They can use any part of their body by their arms and hands. If they do use the hands, a foul is called the other team gets control of the situation. They only people who are allowed to use their hands are the goalkeepers.

Many soccer games are played on football fields. They are set up the same way except instead of having a huge goal post, they use two goal nets (much like hockey). The games are in quarters that are times. There are four quarters per game and a half time. Usually there are only a minute or two pauses between quarters and the half time is much longer. Soccer games usually do not take as much time as soccer, because there are fewer rules to soccer.

Football is a complicated sport that has flags and penalties for, what seems everything. In soccer, penalties are called but mostly for being offsides or out of bounds. Sportsmanship is a problem in both sports. The two sports are very competitive and can be frustrating to the players. Even though you are not allowed to tackle a player purposely in soccer, some players do tend to collide and when they do, they hit hard.

Soccer and football are much alike in some aspects, but are completely different in others. Either way you look at it, the two sports are just as aggressive and competitive and can be very enjoyable to watch and play.

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On June 3, 2009 Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune writer Jenna Ross reported “Yahoo! Sues for fantasy football info.” According to Ross’s report, “In 2007, the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided that CBC Distribution and Marketing Inc. could use Major League Baseball players’ names and statistics for its fantasy baseball products — without paying a fee. The U.S. Supreme Court elected not to review the case.” So the question is whether or not Yahoo!’s fantasy football lawsuit will play out like CBS’s fantasy baseball case.  One thing Yahoo! has in its favor, states Ross, is that the suit has been filed in Minnesota where U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery ruled against the NFL Players Association and for CBS.

Weigh In on the Validity or Stupidity of Yahoo!’s case: Can the NFL Players Association Triumph This Time?

The Fantasy Trade Association Speaks Out

In a statement to the Star Tribune host of Fantasy Football Weekly on KFAN Radio and president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association Paul Charchian said, “These leagues have simply smelled money and tried to go after it any way they could.” So is it true that the NFL Players Association is just simply out to tax fantasy sports enthusiasts or is there something more?

ProFootballTalk.com Explains More Details of the Fantasy Football Case

Mike Floria of ProFootballTalk.com posted this in the early morning on June 4, 2009, “Essentially, Yahoo! is seeking a judicial declaration that its intention to operate a fantasy football game in 2009 without paying fees to the NFLPA is legally appropriate.  And, barring something unforeseen, Yahoo! likely will prevail.” However, just a little more than four hours later Floria, after a deeper investigation of Yahoo!’s suit changed his tune. “And, as it turns out, the lawsuit attempts not only to utilize without compensation the names of the players, but also likenesses (including, without limitation, numbers), pictures, photographs, voices, facsimile signatures and/or biographical information (including but not limited to player statistics),” Floria writes in his post. “In our view, if Yahoo! wants to enhance the basic name-and-stats fantasy experience, Yahoo! probably should have to pay for the ability to use likenesses, pictures, voices, etc,” he concludes.

Everyone is Talking About Fantasy Sports, Even Academia!

The Ludwig von Mises Institute is an intellectual hub with educational and research facilities located in Auburn Alabama, but even they are talking about the Yahoo! case. Mises Economics Blog contributor S.M. Oliva stated on June 4, 2009, “Not all intellectual property involves copyrights, patents, or trademarks. Many states recognize a ‘right of publicity’ that allows a person — or in some cases a decedent’s estate — to control the use of one’s name, likeness, and image for commercial purposes.” Oliva then clarified the Yahoo! lawsuit’s main question, “Are player names, information, and statistics the “intellectual property” of the players vis-à-vis the right of publicity?” So what will the answer be? Here are some things to consider:

–The First Amendment has been found to supplant the “right of publicity”

–The Federal copyright law may supersede the assertion that player names, stats and other info are the intellectual property of the NFLPA

–Sports leagues and Player’s Associations have the right to build and market their own fantasy games if they wanted a larger piece of the market

–A player does not create individual statistics; stats are a quantification of events that have already occurred.

So what will the outcome be? We will just have to keep watching, but Oliva says it best, “Fantasy sports haven’t taken away from the pie; they’ve made it bigger for everyone.”

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