Football

Football season is upon us, and the hottest tickets for the fall certainly reflect that. Just as with any ticketing venture, which teams to invest in are as much of a gamble as hitting the craps table. Some teams, however, are sure bets no matter who theyre playing.

Notre Dame is one such team. Pair the Fighting Irish with the right opposer, and ticket prices skyrocket to a Super Bowl-esque realm. Saturdays game against Georgia Tech opened Georgias season with a complete sell out, though the school had only seen five over the past three seasons. It was the fourth-largest college football game this summer on StubHub.com.

Whether fans are coming out to support the Irish or those waiting to see them get crushed, wherever the team goes, the call for tickets follows. Georgia Tech knew this ahead of time, and in efforts to sell tickets to other match ups, they only sold tickets to the game as part of a three-game ticket package. The flex packs allowed buyers to choose three home games to complete the package. Of the 12,000 packs sold, nearly all included a Notre Dame ticket, according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Tickets to see Notre Dame this Saturday against Penn States Nittany Lions at Notre Dame Stadium are commanding prices that range from $295 to nearly $3,900 on TicketLiquidator.com. The highest ticket for the season is listed for $3,968 for a game against UCLA Oct. 21 on the site.

College football has its following, and these prices reflect the devotion of fans to the sport. The pricing parallels and even supersedes that of NFL games, which notoriously sell for well above face value.

Penn State has its own devoted following, as the teams 11-1 record last year has inspired a flood of tickets on the secondary market, with fans and brokers looking to capitalize on the teams success. According to CentreDaily.com, student season tickets sold out two months earlier this year than last, and public tickets are only available for three of the seven home games.

Last week the first citation for scalping was handed out to a student trying to resell a $166 ticket for $750, CentreDaily.com reported. Last season prompted 45 arrests for scalping. Under state law, reselling a ticket for more than $5 or 25 percent above face value (whichever is higher) is illegal, but buying the ticket is not.

Not all teams have these problems. This Fridays Green Bay Packers game against the Tennessee Titans is selling tickets for below face value on many sites. TicketKing.com has over 350 listed, and will lose money on the game.

Last years season wasnt super successful for the Packers, but the low pricing of Fridays game is most likely related to the timing. The game was scheduled for 3 p.m. in the afternoon, not the most convenient for many working fans. However, it also offers fans that normally couldnt afford to see the team the chance to catch a game.

Vikings sales are slow this season as well, with the area spotlight focused more on the Twins. Taking advantage of the slow start is also a way to get good deals on tickets to see the team. And secondary sites are a great place to find tickets that fans are unloading because of lack of enthusiasm.

Whether its timing of the game or fickle fans, the time to catch your favorite team may be when theyre down, and the place to do it is the secondary market, the only place where free enterprise may dictate pricing below face value.

Bad Attitudes Mean Lost Business Audio Books 5 Unheard Of Uses 4 Alternative Ways To Gain Lifetime Customers

I have always felt that quarterbacks were undervalued in fantasy football. In most scoring formats, they put up more points than any other position (yes, including the vaunted running backs). However, most people tend to dismiss quarterbacks as not worthy of a high pick because they all put up around the same amount of points. I feel that the point differences between a top and mid-level quarterback and a top and mid-level running back are about the same.

In a standard Yahoo fantasy league, Im going to look at the difference in fantasy points between the top ranked QB and RB and the 10th ranked QB and RB. The top ranked QB was Peyton Manning, with 356 points, and 10th was Aaron Brooks with 187 points, a 169 point gap. The top ranked RB was Shaun Alexander, with 194 points, and the 10th ranked RB was Willis McGahee with only 127 points. The point spread here is only 67 points. Because leagues usually have 2 runners and only 1 quarterback, ill compare Alexander to the 20th ranked runner, Thomas Jones, who had 97 points. Between first and 20th, there is a 97 point gap.

In addition to having a far lower point spread, the running backs amass far fewer total points. The top RB, Shaun Alexander, only has 7 more points than the 10th QB, Aaron Brooks. The only reason running backs are ranked so much higher than quarterbacks is because, for no real reason, people tend to snap up running backs early. If you dont pick a back early, you will be stuck with a Warrick Dunn or a Brian Westbrook, who, while still good, are much worse than the top backs.

Most every QB had a career season last year, which can be attributed to the new pass interference rules. So bear in mind that next year, after defensive backs and referees adjust to the new rules, QB numbers overall may go down.

The 2005 season QB rankings:

1. Peyton Manning: He threw for 4500 yards and 49 touchdowns last year, so he should be your top overall pick, not just the top QB. I dont think he will get 49 touchdowns again, as his previous career high was 29. But he should still get over 40 touchdowns with similar yardage numbers.

2. Daunte Culpepper: This guy should be a first-rounder. His season garnered almost no media attention, but he had one of the best seasons ever for a quarterback, setting an all-time record for combined yardage. He had 41 combined touchdowns and threw/ran for 5100 yards. In fact, in leagues that emphasize yardage, he could be more valuable than Peyton Manning. Similarly to Peyton Manning, his record-setting season came out of nowhere; his previous career highs were 4400 combined yards and 33 touchdowns. I personally believe that he will do just fine without Randy Moss (I think that Daunte benefited Mosss numbers more than Moss helped his). Nate Burleson is a fine #1 receiver, and expect something around 35 touchdowns and 4600 combined yards out of him.

3. Donovan McNabb: T.O. and Westbrook have ended their holdouts, and McNabb looks poised to put up similar numbers to last season. Expect over 3500 yards and 30 touchdowns.

4. Trent Green: He tends to get overlooked, but he has been more than solid for several years despite having no wide receivers at all. If Eddie Kennison can repeat last year, and if Marc Boerigter, a touchdown machine, can play well coming off an injury, he will be solid. Samie Parker could also play a big role in the Chiefs offense. Im going to say he gets 4000 yards and 25 touchdowns.

5. Jake Delhomme: He is a very good quarterback, and with the return of Steve Smith, Stephen Davis, Deshaun Foster, and the rest of the team from injury, he should have an opportunity to improve his numbers from last year. The emergence of Keary Colbert last year was a pleasant surprise, and his continued development will take attention away from Steve Smith and open up the passing game. Expect 28+ touchdowns and 3600 yards out of him.

6. Drew Brees : His season did literally come out of nowhere, but he had 3150 yards and 29 touchdowns, and with Reche Caldwell and Keenan McCardell back from injury, he might even do better. Having Antonio Gates back from his holdout also helps his value. He should get 30 touchdowns and 3300 yards.

7. Tom Brady: Tom Brady is a solid starter, usually notching around 25 touchdowns and 3700 yards every year. The Patriots lost David Patten this offseason, but with the way they spread the ball around he shouldnt be a factor. They regain Ben Watson, and they signed a boatload of receivers, including Tim Dwight and David Terrell. Deion Branch and David Givens are a very underrated top 2, and expect around 3800 yards and 25 touchdowns from Brady.

8. Marc Bulger: He has an amazingly talented group of wide receivers, headlined by Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. He is also in an offensive system that is very pass-happy. I hear people saying his breakout year is going to come this year, but I dont believe it. I say 4000 yards and 20 touchdowns.

9. Brett Favre: Not many people would but Favre this low, but the loss of both the starting guards(Wahle and Rivera) from last years o-line is troubling. The offensive success of this team stemmed in no small part from its stellar o-line, and Brett Favre will undoubtedly not get as much time in the pocket as he did last year. But its hard to bet against Favre, and Im going to say he notches 3000 yards and around 22 touchdowns.

10. Jake Plummer : He throws way too many interceptions for peoples liking, but he does get the numbers. You may not want to get him in a league that heavily penalizes interceptions, but his last year stats of 4100 yards and 27 touchdowns are appealing in all other leagues. Last year was by far a career year for him, so Im going to say he gets 3000 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Vikas Paruchuri is a sports columnist who writes on the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB. He maintains a website at http://www.thehomefield.com with sports analysis and opinion columns.

Building A Great Intranet Taxonomy

Shaun Alexander from the Seattle Seahawks tied a NFL single season record for touchdowns (TD) on Saturday, after scoring three times against the NFL Indianapolis Colts. Alexander scored in the first, third and fourth quarters of the game. The mark was established by Priest Holmes from Kansas City Chiefs on September 27th, 2003.

Alexander gained 139 yards on the game played with the Colts and became the 16th player to run for more than 1,800 yards in a season. He now has 1807 yards.

This increased Seattles winning run to 11 games and set a franchise record with their 13th win of the NFL season.

NFL Indianapolis Colts played this game without their coach Tony Dungy, who had to leave town to go to Tampa due to his sons death. The 18 years old was found dead in his apartment in Florida from an apparent suicide.

Without Dungy, Indianapolis lacked their usual focus suffering their second straight defeat after opening the NFL season with 13 consecutive wins.

Julie Smith is one of the most recognized copy writers on Sports Betting and currently writes for Instant Action Sports. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.

The 6 Stages Of Modern Career Development