The weekly BCS shuffle has provided more drama this fall than Grey's Anatomy. And if you've followed the national title hunt as closely as I have, you've heard the term “style points” spouted a lot over the last week or two.

What the college football mouths are talking about when they mention style points is that little something extra teams must do to break into one of the five BCS bowl games. There are plenty of teams that must wow the BCS with some additional offense or defense in the final three games of the season.

This is a great chance for bettors to play these programs that would normally get unattractive spreads.

The Big 12 is a perfect example of where the value lies in style points. Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma run a very likely risk of ending up tied atop the South standings when it's all said and done.

In that case, the conference tie breaker turns to the BCS rankings. The highest ranked team will advance to the Big 12 title game where they will run over Missouri and move on to play for the national championship.

In order to get into that position, those three Big 12 South schools are going to have to go all out. Expect the Sooners to pile on the points if they get up on the Red Raiders next weekend – making Oklahoma minus whatever a solid bet.

The same can be said for the Longhorns. They face Kansas Saturday and lowly Texas A&M in the final game of the season. Bettors can take comfort in giving a ton of points with Colt McCoy and the Texas offense trying to puff up their final BCS spot.

The non-BCS schools in the bowl hunt, like Utah, Boise State and even Ball State, are not only battling their final two foes of the regular season but also each other. There is one glass slipper set aside for these would-be Cinderellas. They'll be trying to score style points with the BCS selection as well.

It's worth taking a gander at the predicted bowl matchups and see who can upgrade their purse by pouring it on thick in the final two weeks. 

Don't fear the points.

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The 2008-09 NBA season has some players sporting spiffy new looks. We're not talking a full-out Queer Eye makeover, but it's enough to make them stand out on the court without even touching the ball.

So long cornrows

Some where Latrell Sprewell is crying.

The tightly wound braids that have adorned the heads of NBA superstars like Lee Nailon, Ricky Davis and Brad Miller (for real) are finally on the way out.

Even king of the complicated cornrow, Carmelo Anthony, has traded his trademark 'do for a smooth half-fro. Melo recently opened a barbershop in Denver and apparently his updated hairstyle is a publicity stunt. The spot is called STUDIO 15, a homage to Anthony's jersey digit, and had its grand opening Thursday.

I was hoping his former teammate Allen Iverson would also ditch his well-known lid when he was traded to Detroit earlier this week. However, it looks like AI will be keeping his cornrows and won't go throwback Iverson circa 1996.

It's just a matter of time before the cornrow is phased out of the NBA, maybe opening the door for the return of the flat-top fade or AC Green Jhuri Curl.

Thunder's jersey is not OK

Unwritten rule of sports jerseys: One line of lettering (either city, school or team nickname) above the number. Not this two-line bull crap the Oklahoma City Thunder are trying to pull.

Take a look at the Thunders' blue away unis. There's no room for paragraphs on NBA duds. The Vancouver Grizzlies tried to get away with this and look where they ended up.

Dress for success. Go with just plain 'ole Oklahoma or OKC, like the Suns PHX third jersey.

Not to keep craping on Oklahoma City, but the team's color scheme is a little 90's Pistons. Detroit rolled with a greener blue (teal for you real men) with red and yellow and look what happened to Bison Dele, Malik Sealy and Grant Hill. Two of those guys are dead and one was inches from meeting his maker.

If I were Kevin Durant, I'd be careful. Very careful.

Probably his new glasses...

Is that Amare Stoudemire scoring 49 for the Suns or Bo Outlaw? I can't see. I think I need some of those snazzy sports glasses Amare is rocking this season.

Last year it was a change in jersey number, this time Stoudemire is following in the footsteps of such goggled greats as Kurt Rambis, Orlando Woolridge and Akeem (Not Hakeem) Olajuwon.

Stoudemire is wearing the glasses to protect a torn iris, which sounds like the most horrific injury known to man. They've got the athletic forward averaging over 25 points and nine rebounds per game to start the season, sparking early MVP talk.

Could Amare pull a Rip Hamilton and continue to wear the protective device well after his injury has healed?

Birds of a feather

How many logos does one team need? The Atlanta Hawks have a franchise symbol for every win they've picked up this year.

There's the spread-winged hawk clutching the basketball, the old school pacman look, the Ball State ripoff hawk head and A-Town Dance Team member Briana. Yikes.

While the Hawks' creative marketing squad is hustling in the front office, the players are also doing their jobs on the hardwood. Atlanta is shutting down teams to 86 points per game heading into Sunday's matchup with Oklahoma City.

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I'm not a huge NBA guy.

I'm not saying I'm a small man. I run about 6-foot-4 and would make a solid 15^th option off the bench after the third assistant and waterboys had their minutes.

I'm saying the National Basketball Association doesn't tickle my pickle.

It's not that I don't like basketball or know nothing about the league. I have the same sort of demeanor about pro ball that most NBA crowds have.

I arrive halfway through the first quarter, sit on my hands for most of the game, then cheer like hell down the stretch.

I prefer the college game, and it's not just a desperate grab at my university glory days.

NCAA basketball is an event each night. The student section is infectious, spreading foul-mouthed mayhem throughout the arena. And the players leave their hearts, sweat, tears, skin and chances of getting laid later on the floor for 40 minutes.

NBA guys don't have to play for poonanny. They're in the NBA – which could stand for No Begging for Ass.

However, with the college season still a couple weeks away, I tried quenching my basketball jones (ooooooow baby, ooow ooow ooow) with the early NBA schedule. And frankly, I was surprised.

Anyone who watched the Houston Rockets slug it out with the Dallas Mavericks the other night might have thought they had stumbled upon one of those NBATV classics that run in between tape of Red Auerbach and Rick Barry doing granny-style free throws.

The game, which was Dallas' season opener, had the swagger of a college conference rivalry and not the first week of the season. By the atmosphere inside American Airlines Arena, you'd swear it was free Red Bull night. The crowd was loud and proud like my gay cousin and the mood on the floor was just as flamboyant.

The Rockets and Mavericks looked more April than October. The first half was filled with more chest bumps than the three-titted chick from Total Recall and both sides combined for 121 points. The game, that ended 112-102 in favor of Houston, even had some playoff-esk drama in the fourth quarter.

Ron Artest came to the aid of Yao Ming after a tangle with Josh “I'm the next Pacman Jones” Howard. I'm sure the 16-foot-tall Yao could've handled his own business, but who better to have your back than one of sports' craziest sum bitches.

The night before that, I took in the Boston Celtics' home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers and was treated to another dandy. These teams have a hate on for each other like they were separated by just a short stretch of Carolina country road.

The crowd at the Garden was already losing their minds from the Celtics' first ring ceremony since Larry Bird and Robert Parish were getting hammered the night before games. Add to that excitement a rematch with King James and the Cavs, who took Beantown to the limit in the second round of the playoffs.

Boston won last year's title on intensity and still have the amps cranked to 11. It fought back from a 7-point halftime hole, holding the Cavs to 16 points in the third quarter. It took the lead in the fourth before watching LeBron wet his pants on the foul line with the game on the line like a college freshman.

This energy and intensity is tough to keep up over an 82-game schedule, even for pros. But it will, however, sustain for at least the first month of the season. That's more than enough to hold me over until NCAA hoops begin November 10.

Thanks NBA. You're alright.

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