Pass The Mike Sports

Miami, Florida and Florida State fans come in and have a seat, y'all need to hear this. The UCF Knights have the best football team in the state of Florida. Whew, there, I said it. Another thing, they also have one of the best teams in the nation. No. 11 UCF thrashed No. 24 Cincinnati 38-13 in front of a national TV audience on ABC Saturday in Orlando. The Knights dominated the game from start to finish to extend their winning streak to 23 straight games -- the longest such streak in the country. To put that in perspective, they haven't lost a game in exactly 700 days. Saturday, they played the type of game -- an explosive offense and swarming defense -- that made programs like Miami famous during their rise to prominence during 80s and early 2000s. For many fans outside Orlando, it was their first time watching UCF play since last season's Peach Bowl win against Auburn to complete an undefeated season. The Knights crowned themselves national champions after that seaso

ATHENS, Ga. -- What makes SEC football so special? I found out first hand on a freezing cold Saturday night "between the hedges" at Sanford Stadium. The Georgia Bulldogs played host to the Auburn Tigers in what’s billed as “the deep south’s oldest rivalry.” I’ve been to big football games before but I can honestly say I’ve never been to a sporting event with this much passion and intensity.  (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) Growing up in Miami, football games - college or professional - only sold out on rare occasions (Miami vs. FSU).  Here in SEC country, they support their team in droves no matter the record. A crowd of 92,746 packed Georgia’s Sanford Stadium to see the No. 5 Bulldogs play the Tigers and the fans were immersed in the game from start to finish. "The fans are always here for Auburn and Georgia," said Columbus, Ga. native Xavier Palmer. Despite temperatures creeping down to the 30s, virtually every seat was filled at

The first week of NFL football is in the books and there were plenty of story lines to go around. Here are the top headlines as observed by Pass the Mike Sports. Tampa Bay shocks New Orleans in the Dome: With Jameis Winston out for the first three games it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Tampa Bay would get steamrolled by the Saints in their season opener. However, backup QB Ryan Fitzpatrick had other plans, marching the Bucs offense up and down the field behind 417 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-40 win over Drew Brees and the Saints. Ryan Fitzpatrick Head coach Dirk Koetter said Winston wouldn't be handed the starting job back when he returned and if Fitzpatrick continues to play like he did Sunday, there's no reason for Winston to see the field. But stay humble Bucs fans, there's a reason Fitzpatrick has played for seven different teams in his NFL career and it's usually because defenses figure him out as the season progresses. While you should re

If you've watched enough pro football over the years the Le'Veon Bell saga in Pittsburgh is a familiar story line. The team's star player is trying to get a new contract and has refused to show up to training camp and practice until he receives what he and his agent believes is a fair offer from the team. Bell, 26, is arguably the best and one of the most utilized running backs in the league. Even on a team with weapons like Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster, Bell still seems like the engine that makes Pittsburgh's offense go. Pittsburgh Steelers running back  Le'Veon Bell.  (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) Usually in holdout situations like this one, the holdout player's teammates will come out in public support of their colleague that's trying to get the new money. You'll often see a quote that goes something like "We wish that he was out here with us but we understand the business side of the game.&quo

The public relations scandal is the true champion of the college football ranks. This time it has returned to plant its flag at Ohio State, a school that's no stranger to controversy within its college football program. So in case you missed it, here's the scoop. Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer dominated the sports headlines Thursday after news surfaced Wednesday that he knew more than he led on about domestic violence accusations against one of his assistant coaches. Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer. The news is significant because Meyer, the face one of the top football programs in the nation, may lose his job if the school's investigation reveals he kept quiet about the allegations. It's also a double whammy for the school's athletic department. If Meyer is fired or decides to resign he'd become the second coach in less than a decade that the school has lost to scandal. Back in 2011, an investigation revealed former head coach Jim Tressel knew his player

Like a movie with a predictable plot, many of us saw LeBron James signing with the Los Angeles Lakers a mile away. But the news of "The Decision 3" still had the internet buzzing all Sunday night. LeBron James has agreed to 4-year, $154M deal with Lakers, Klutch Sports says. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2018 Fast forward to Monday and we've had a day to marinate on what LeBron to L.A. means for his legacy, the Lakers and the rest of the NBA. Press play in L.A. Simply adding James to the current Laker roster turns them into an instant playoff team next season. However, its obvious Los Angeles is a long ways away from helping LeBron conquer the West and make his ninth straight NBA Finals appearance. Like a mega-budget Hollywood movie, the Lakers are going to need at least one more star (preferably two) to legitimately compete for a championship. And from the looks of it, that next star may have to come in the form of a trade. Paul George's sur

James Harden, I'ma let you finish but LeBron James is the real Most Valuable Player for the 2017-18 season. I didn't channel Kanye to diminish Harden's season or say he's unworthy of MVP, it's just that LeBron was more deserving of the award this time around. I googled the definition of "value" and this is what came up: the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. Based on that definition alone, LeBron should have won MVP in a landslide. If you were to remove him from Cleveland's roster the Cavs would have likely been a lottery team with the core of players they had. Whereas in Houston, if you took Harden off that roster, the Rockets would still have likely been in the playoff hunt with Chris Paul as the featured star.  NBA MVP James Harden poses with his mom Monja Willis during the 2018 NBA Awards in California. (Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images) I came to this realization

The phrases seem to come right on queue. Dwyane Wade shoots a floater against the Philadelphia Sixers. Every time Dwyane Wade has had a big game lately the narrative is always the same from sportswriters and fans. "We're seeing vintage D-Wade tonight." "Wade turned back the clock with this performance." "He's playing like the D-Wade from 2006." Let's be clear, Wade, 36, is far past his prime, but let's not act surprised anymore each time he has a big game. On Monday, he single-handedly won game 2 of this playoff series for the Miami Heat. His 28 points in just 26 minutes off the bench helped Miami snap Philadelphia's 17-game winning streak and silence Kevin Hart and the raucous Philly crowd in the process. Look what you did, @KevinHart4real . pic.twitter.com/cIPwIruXyG — ESPN (@espn) April 17, 2018 Bad stints in Chicago and Cleveland caused fans to forget just what Wade is capable of: playing clutch in big games.

It's probably not the match up many Heat fans envisioned, but it will be a good one nonetheless. The NBA regular season has wrapped up and the playoffs are set to begin. A number of Heat fans would have liked to see Miami lose that last game against Toronto and drop to the No. 7 seed, which would have pitted them against a Boston Celtics team without its best player Kyrie Irving, but if you've watched the Heat play this season they just tend to let you down that way. Another faction of Heat fans had their fingers crossed that maybe we'd finally see a playoff match up against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. It may be time to let that dream go, Heat fans, the powers that be just won't let it happen. But here's the good news: Miami is back in the playoffs for the first time since LeBron jumped ship in 2014. The Heat have a favorable match up against a team full of young players with little or no playoff experience, which gives them a good shot to make

At the height of former Louisville QB Lamar Jackson's domination of college football, my friend and I started a running joke. Jackson, the 2016 Heisman winner and one of the most dominant players to ever play college football, was in for a rude awakening once he decided to enter the NFL Draft. Despite his video game number playing quarterback at Louisville, passing for 9,043 yards, 69 TDs and a 57 percent completion percentage while rushing for another 4,132 yards and 50 TDs, we agreed that some NFL executives would see fit to ask Jackson to play a new position at the pro level. We joked Jackson would come into an NFL practice one day expecting to put on his usual No. 8, but hanging at his locker would be the No. 88 and a pair of those fancy Nike receiver gloves. (FYI: NFL receivers can only wear a number between 10-19 and 80-89.) When demanding an explanation from coaches, the head coach would say something like: "We just want to give you a different look," or

Now that we've had a few days to marinate on last week's NBA trade deadline let's take a look at the aftermath. In case you've been living under a rock, ala Patrick Star, here's everything that went down in the NBA on Thursday. Now that all the paperwork is complete and new jerseys have been printed here's the breakdown of why the Cavs secured the bag even before they beat the brakes off   defeated the Celtics  on national TV Sunday. For much of the season, Cleveland looked old, slow and tired despite sitting comfortably as a top-4 seed in the East. Yet, with a wave of fresh faces, the Cavs are primed to make another Finals run, as opposed to a team who might have lost in the first round. The Cavs acquired Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood, George Hill and Larry Nance Jr. at the trade deadline pic.twitter.com/mQNIi0Wszm — Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) February 9, 2018 Cleveland's front office pulled off one of the boldest strategies I've e