Weekend Primer

By Eric Horowitz

The Appalachian State Mountaineers are one of the more under-the-radar dynasties in college sports: three straight Div. 1-AA titles and counting... Jeremy Brevard/Icon SMI

Your guide to the weekend, SIOC style.

Friday

NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament Final Eight

Check out this fancy interactive bracket for the tournament. Just the sight of it makes me want to gamble. It's like a Pavlovian reaction you can't control. Over on the men's side, the final 16 teams will begin play on Saturday. And yes, they've got a bracket, too.

Saturday

Vince Dooley Athletic Complex Dedication, University of Georgia, 9:30 a.m.

Georgia is set to rename its athletic complex after the legendary football coach who led them to the 1980 NCAA Championship. Until this year, that was the last time that the Bulldogs finished a season ranked No. 1. Okay, I'm now being told that Georgia was No. 1 in the insignificant preseason poll, not the post-season poll. Never mind.

NCAA Division 1-AA Football Playoffs 1st Round

The Appalachian State Mountaineers are chasing a record fourth straight championship. Standing in their way are top-seeded James Madison, perennial powerhouse Montana, and Kurt Warner's alma mater, Northern Iowa. The big question is: will Barack Obama be tuning in to college football's only Division 1 playoff?

NCAA Football: No. 23 Oregon at No. 17 Oregon State, 7 p.m.

The Beavers are one win away from the Rose Bowl, but they'll likely have to play without super freshman Jacquizz Rodgers (a man of greater hyperbole than I might call him a combination of Barry Sanders and Maurice Jones-Drew). Rodgers' shoulder is Ja-sprained.

WWE Smackdown, Penn State University, 7:30 p.m.

Joe Paterno remembers when pro wrestling was just two guys, two pairs of tight pants, and a mat. Not like today's wresting with all that flashy Gorgeous George entrance music. On the other hand, Paterno would be pleased with a show that combines the toughness of Big-10 football with the fakeness of Michigan's future Rose Bowl aspirations.

NCAA Football: Notre Dame at No. 5 USC, 8 p.m.

A victory keeps alive USC's slim hopes of sneaking into the BCS title game without one impressive victory (beating the pre-Pryor Buckeyes doesn't count), an occurrence which could spur every SEC and Big 12 fan to journey westward and burn down the Pac-10 headquarters.

Sunday

NCAA Basketball: Old Spice Classic Final, Disney Wide World of Sports Complex, 7:30 p.m.

Five 2008 NCAA Tournament teams (Gonzaga, Tennessee, Michigan State, Georgetown, Sienna) make the trip to Orlando for the only competition where the MVP gets to say "I'm going next door!" -- and the early losers take solace in having an extra day to ride Thunder Mountain. Pity whoever has to sit behind Georgetown behemoth Gregg Monroe.