The Next Joe Montana

College football fans remember Tennessee's Casey Clausen.  A very solid quarterback who left UT in 2003 number two in career touchdowns behind somebody named Peyton Manning.  Think about this.  He has a brother.  No, not Rick.  Another brother.  A brother who is being compared to Joe Montana. 

 The Kid With The Golden Arm

Meet Jimmy Clausen.  Last Fall, on the first day of recruiting, Notre Dame head coach, Charlie Weis showed up at Clausen's school.  Why is this unique you ask?  Clausen is a junior.  Weis, in his first year in South Bend, was trying to bring in a great class.  On the first day he showed up at a junior's door.  You know the kid's good when Charlie Weis shows up in his first full recruiting day after helping the Patriot's become the best NFL offense in ten years.  He could be at any Senior's door, but he's at yours.  No pressure there. 

The 6-foot-3, 207 pound Clausen has 88 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions in his last two years for Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, California.  His team averages 53 points per game and he is 27-0 as a starter.  Clausen has completed 68 percent of his passes over the last two years and has thrown for 7,234 career yards.  Not bad. 

Jimmy's brother, Rick, who started a few games for the Volunteer's this past fall, has stated 'Jimmy is better than both of us right now.'  Imagine having that load on your shoulder's.  Seventeen years old, being compared to Joe Montana, being told you are the Lebron James of high school football and that you are better than your brother who is starting for one of the best teams in the Southeastern Conference. 

How about being told you have 'the arm of John Elway, the composure of Tom Brady and the quick release of Joe Namath?  Clausen carries the ball high, by his ear, which gives him a short, accurate and ridiculously consistent motion.'  "I've never seen anyone with a quicker release than Jimmy has," says Brian Sipe, the former Cleveland Browns quarterback and NFL MVP who is now the coach at Santa Fe Christian inSan Diego. "I didn't expect to see that at the high school level."

Get ready world.  Jimmy Clausen is going to take over college football...well in 2007 he is.

Other Tidbits:

*  I flipped on HBO Saturday afternoon to see the Wladimir Klitschko vs Chris Byrd heavyweight fight live from Mannheim, Germany.  Wow, that was exciting.  Byrd couldn't dodge a left from a 90-year-old blind woman.  Second, Byrd's wife was going absolutely insane in the crowd yelling at him that he needs to start 'throwing more punches.'  Nice wife.  She's insane.  Third, Byrd just stinks. 

 How was Chris Byrd ever the champion?

*  Yessirree, the NBA Playoffs started over the weekend.  Which seven game series is going to last six weeks this year?  Game 1 of the Bucks/Pistons series was Sunday; Game 2 in Detroit again is Wednesday.  Right.  These guys need 3 full days of rest between games.  You can not be serious.  I will say this though.  I am definitely more interested in the NBA Playoffs this year than any other year over the past 8 years.  Two words:  Lebron James. 

*  One person on this earth can say they know how to beat Roger Federer:  Rafael Nadal.  Nadal on Sunday beat Federer for the fourth time in five tries in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (5).  Most of those wins are on clay though.  Not on hard courts where two of the four majors (U.S. and Australian) are played.  Nadal certainly won't be Federer on the grass at Wimbledon either.