The Debut of The Rundown

We are back on the Sports Minds blog and here's a new feature, The Rundown. The Rundown gives you the top stories to follow for the day or games to watch tonight.

• The Fallout from the upset of the year in College Hoops: TCU over #5 Kansas
• Recapping National Signing Day: Tide consensus #1 class, Ole Miss nabs #1 recuit Knemdiche
• Gregg Williams reinstated to NFL, signs as Titans assistant
• King Felix and Seattle Mariners agree to $175 million contract
• Reigning MVP Peterson played second half of the season with sports hernia, has repair surgery
• Kobe, Lakers face KG and the Celtics in a renewal of one of the NBA's greatest rivalries in Boston
• Clippers get Paul and Griffin back for tomorrow's game, as well as the season debut for Billups

Keep a close eye on these stories and games and follow late-breaking developments on my Twitter page.

The Jack Attack's 10 Favorite Sports Themes That NEED To Return

I'm back with another "Top 10" countdown, this time I rank 10 iconic sports themes that need to return to the airwaves.

10. NFL on NBC (Used Super Bowl XXVIII and 1994 season)

**It's a shame they decided to replace this theme. It was great, point blank.**

9. NASCAR on CBS (Used 1995-1997 (Winston Cup) and 1998 (Busch Series))

**Just recently found this, but it screams this era of NASCAR.**

8. NBA on TNT 

**I am a HUGE fan of the current theme, but this one should definitely be used for "Inside The NBA"**

7. MLB on FOX  (Used 1998-2010)

I have no idea why FOX thought it was a good idea to use the NFL theme for ALL of their telecasts...

6. NFL on CBS (Used 1992-1993)

**Love the new theme too, just would like to see this anywhere.**

5. NASCAR on NBC/TNT (Used 2001-2003 and 2004 Daytona 500)

**NBC just needs to come back to NASCAR. Point Blank. I loved this theme so much, here's two instances of it for you. The 2001 Pepsi 400 at Daytona and the 2001 Chevy Monte Carlo 400 with the Looney Tunes from Richmond.**

4. NCAA Basketball on CBS (used 1993-2003)

**I don't like the remix. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.**

3. College Football on ABC (used 1998-2005)

**This was a casualty of the greatest sports tragedy in sports TV. The dissolving of ABC Sports and the creation of ESPN on ABC.**

2. NASCAR on FOX (Used 2001-2007)

**Once again, who told these guys their NFL intro would work for everything?!**

1.NBA on NBC  (Used 1989-2002)

**Comcast...If you are smart, get the NBA contract from ESPN/ABC**

Disagree? Let me know how ya feel!

Comment below or on our Facebook Page!

The 10 Best Sports Play-by-Play Commentators According to The Sports Minds (Part 2)

They are the voices of sports we hear every day. Here are the Top 10 according to Jack Patterson...


10 (tie). Mike Joy and Allen Bestwick
Claim to Fame:
Joy: Play-by-Play for NASCAR on FOX and SPEED
Bestwick: Play-by-Play for NASCAR (Sprint Cup) on ESPN, ESPN 2 and ABC

9. Dan Shulman
Claim to Fame: NBA, College Sports for ESPN

8. Verne Lundqvist
Claim to Fame: SEC Football, College Basketball, Golf and Tennis on CBS

7. Marv Albert
Claim to Fame: NBA on TNT and NFL on CBS

6. Joe Tessitore

Claim to Fame: College Football and Friday Night Fights on ESPN

5. Ian Darke

Claim to Fame: Premier League, Men's and Women's World Cup for ESPN

4. Mike "Doc" Emrick

Claim to Fame: Play-by-Play for the New Jersey Devils, Winter Olympics on NBC and the NHL on NBC and NBC Sports Network

3. Mike Tirico

Claim to Fame: Monday Night Football, NBA, College Sports among others for ESPN

2. Kevin Harlan
Claim to Fame: NBA on TNT, Monday Night Football on Westwood One Radio, College Basketball and NFL on CBS

1. Gus Johnson
Claim to Fame: College Football and NFL on FOX, College Basketball on Big Ten Network, remembered for his time at CBS

The 10 Best Sports Play-by-Play Commentators According to The Sports Minds (Part 1)

They are the voice of the sports we hear everyday. These are the 10 best according to Matt Brown...

10. Brad Nessler
Claim to Fame: Thursday Night Football on NFL Network and College Sports on ESPN

9. Darrell Waltrip

Claim to Fame: NASCAR Winston Cup Champion, Lap-by-Lap Analyst for NASCAR on FOX and SPEED

8. Verne Lundqvist
Claim to Fame: SEC Football, College Basketball, Golf and Tennis on CBS

7. Dick Vitale

Claim to Fame: College Basketball on ESPN

6. Mike "Doc" Emrick

Claim to Fame: Play-by-Play for the New Jersey Devils, Winter Olympics on NBC and the NHL on NBC and NBC Sports Network

5. Wes Durham

Claim to Fame: Voice of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Atlanta Falcons on radio

4. Chip Caray

Claim to Fame: Play-by-Play for the Atlanta Braves on SportSouth and FOX Sports South

3. Mike Tirico

Claim to Fame: Monday Night Football, NBA, College Sports among others for ESPN

2. Jon Gruden

Claim to Fame: Super Bowl winning Coach, Monday Night Football analyst

1. Gus Johnson

Claim to Fame: College Football and NFL on FOX, College Basketball on Big Ten Network, remembered for his time at CBS

Paying Homage to One of the Greatest of All Time: Joe Paterno

I didn't want to write about this, due to my strong emotions on this topic, but I'd be remiss if I didn't. Today, we lost one of the greatest, if not THE greatest coach of all time in Joe Paterno. Paterno didn't just coach at Penn State. For almost a half a century, HE was Penn State. No one has won more games than him. Only Amos Alonzo Stagg coached as many games, in fact, they're tied. He had 3 undefeated teams, knocked off the goliath that was "The U" for a national title.
I could go on and on and on about "Joe Pa" and his on field accomplishments, but what will forever endear him to State College, PA was his love to Pennsylvania State University. Forget Brown University, the Ivy League school he attended, his alma mater, the man had donated millions to the improvements to PSU's library and academic departments. Not to mention, being an example of a great man to every athlete that strapped on the blue and white and played inside of Beaver Stadium. Over 300 of his players signed NFL contracts. Most comeback to finish their degrees.
Most would have loved for Joe to coach as long as he wanted. He loved Penn State and students and alumni loved him back. Joe lived right down the street from the stadium. Not in some gigantic mansion in the suburbs of Pittsburgh or Philadelphia. He was a part of "Happy Valley." Hell, he MADE "Happy Valley."
Yet what Joe loved so much, Penn State, is what led to the events today and why I even writing this post. Without a doubt, what Jerry Sandusky, the man who was once tabbed to be head coach after Paterno retired, did is absolutely inexcusable and will probably spend a long time in jail for it. But at this point, the board of trustees at Penn State should be following Sandusky to the cell. I can understand the need to make change, but the way it was done, to fire a man who gave this university his life after college, who brought so much good to the university, because his higher UPS didn't open their mouths after he reported what happened to them? You didn't just fire the man...you signed his death warrant. When you take the one thing that a man loves away, whether it be a wife, a job, a home, what does he live for afterwards? The thing is, the man typically doesn't live much longer. And in Paterno's case, he had two of the three taken from him. Someone said on SportsCenter (I believe it was Lou Holtz) today that once he was fired, he wouldn't live six months. They were wrong. He didn't make it three.
But his legacy shall not be tarnished by what happened the last four months of 2011. His legacy is DEFINED by the 40+ years before that as the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions.
So Joseph Vincent Paterno, you may finally rest in peace. No one wanted you to leave, but now you can lead God's team to the National Championship in the sky. I don't think there is a argument, you were, are and always will be the greatest coach in college football.
Rest in Peace, Joe Pa. You touched so many lives. You've done so much. Thank You may never be enough, but for lack of a better term, Thank You.
God Bless You, and "We Are..."
"...Penn State!"