Most of us working stiffs got to take Monday off for Labor Day. The teams on NASCAR’s Nextel Cup circuit didn’t have the same luxury.

There wasn’t much time for Kasey Kahne to savor his victory Sunday night at the Sony HD 500 in Fontana, Calif. His Evernham Racing team was one of several to take the red-eye Monday, en route to Saturday’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia. Given the time pressure and the relatively small ¾-mile track at Richmond, there is an increased likelihood of chaos as qualifying for the Chase for the Cup draws to a close.

Kahne’s victory at California Speedway pulled him to within 30 points of that last qualifying spot. He also leads all Cup drivers with five wins this season, and is near the top of the odds list this week at +900 to make it six. Jeff Burton (+2000) is currently in 10th place, but he’s not the only driver in danger of falling out of Chase position. The only two drivers who have clinched are Matt Kenseth (+900) and Jimmie Johnson (+1200).

Most of the other men in the Top 10 will be racing conservatively this Sunday, more concerned with avoiding a race-ending collision than taking the checkered flag. Those closer to Kahne in the standings will be more aggressive. Mark Martin (+2000) is only two points in front of Burton, while defending Cup champion Tony Stewart (+800) is another 13 points ahead of Martin. These four drivers are essentially fighting for three spots in the Chase.

Stewart earns co-favorite honors this week with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Each man has won three Cup races at Richmond. Stewart has been the more consistent of the two with four Top-7 results in his last five appearances. Earnhardt, however, won the May event at this track, the hotly contested Crown Royal 400.

Ironically, Little E’s established skills on superspeedways come into play at Richmond. Although the track is short, the turns are a manageable 14 degrees. Lap times approaching 110 mph are the norm - when cars aren’t smashing into one another. No wonder fans love Richmond so much.

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The pulled hamstring ranks right up there in the Sports Injury Hall of Fame with the sprained ankle and the torn labrum. This week’s honored victim: Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith.

Smith was kept off the practice field Wednesday with a tweaked right hamstring, which coach John Fox says happened during the previous day’s session. He’s officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s game in Charlotte against the Atlanta Falcons. The Panthers were listed as 5-point favorites after news broke of Smith’s injury. That line is down a point from earlier in the week. The total has also dropped from 41.5 at the open to 39.

It’s no secret that the Panthers live off the vertical passing game. Smith led the NFL in receiving yards last year with 1,563; his 103 receptions and 12 touchdowns through the air were tied for first. Those numbers might end up even higher this season now that running back Stephen Davis is with the St. Louis Rams. DeShaun Foster doesn’t inspire the same level of confidence that Davis did in 2003, when he rushed for 1,444 yards to help propel the Cats to the Super Bowl.

Smith’s injury could also impact Carolina’s special teams. The Panthers cut wideout Efrem Hill last Saturday, leaving Smith and cornerback Chris Gamble to handle punt return duties. If Smith does play, it’s very likely Gamble will be taking the lion’s share of the returns. He’s got excellent speed and versatility; whether he can elude tacklers is another question.

Fellow WR Keyshawn Johnson summed up the mood in Carolina when he mused aloud to reporters how Thursday’s sports headlines might look: “Steve Smith not here; Panthers doomed.” But Fox is downplaying the injury. According to the coach, Smith is in excellent physical shape despite missing 17 days of practice with a bad left hamstring, plus another week with an ingrown toenail. Smith did not play in any of Carolina’s exhibition games.

The Panthers got some more bad news Wednesday when CB Ken Lucas suffered a bruised arm during practice. His status for Sunday’s game was unknown at the time of publication. Lucas is a very good defender; his 2005 season was one of the few bright spots for Carolina’s secondary, which has since undergone an extreme makeover. Also questionable for Sunday are linebacker Na’il Diggs (knee) and defensive tackle Jordan Carstens (elbow).

Kick-off from Bank of America Stadium is at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on FOX.

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The Boise State Broncos might look the same to the untrained eye. They still have that ridiculous blue “smurf turf” at Bronco Stadium (now thankfully made of AstroPlay). But look at the sideline, and you’ll see a major difference.

Dan Hawkins has moved on from Boise to take the reins of the much-maligned University of Colorado football program. It’s a deserved “promotion” to a major conference after leading the Broncos to a 53-11 record in five seasons. Taking over for Hawkins is former offensive co-ordinator Chris Petersen. Offense was the name of the game while Hawkins was in charge, so the Broncos should be just fine in that department. The question will be whether Petersen can be the great motivator that Hawkins proved to be.

That question should be answered Thursday when the Oregon State Beavers come to town. Oregon is the only team on the Broncos’ schedule that hails from a BCS conference - although not the best team Boise State will face. That honor goes to the Utah Utes; still, the Beavers are easily better than the rest of the WAC on paper. They beat the Broncos 30-27 in last year’s matchup at Corvallis, although that was only good enough for a push.

This year’s colony of Beavers should be stronger after returning its entire starting offensive line, plus junior running back Yvenson Bernard, who romped for over 1,300 yards in 2005. He’ll have the benefit of sharing the workload with Clinton Polk, a JUCO transfer from Scottsdale who lit up the spring session. The duo combined for 160 rushing yards in last week’s 56-17 dismantling of Eastern Washington. They should give Boise State’s defensive line enough headaches this Thursday to keep things close, if not win outright.

The Broncos are 8-point faves in this matchup. The total was off the board at the time of publication; Las Vegas linemakers have it in the neighborhood of 59 points. The UNDER was 5-1 for Boise State to close out last season, and also went 7-3 for the Beavers in their last 10 September outings. ESPN has the action starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

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Since they won the Seattle Bowl back in 2002 not much has gone right for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, but Head coach Jim Grobe feels very good about his team’s chances of making the post-season in ‘06. He now has full control over the roster and the team is filled with his recruits, with a deep and talented roster. After finishing near the bottom of the ACC for the past few seasons the major changes to the team are on Defense, and this season it will be improved. 10 starters return and 13 of their top 14 top tacklers will be back in the mix. This is clearly HC Grobe’s best defensive squad yet and every facet is stacked with depth, experience, and talent. The RB is the biggest hole on offense, but Micah Andrews should fill in just fine behind the solid O-Line. Though they have no true game-breakers at WR the unit boasts a ton of experience. QB Ben Mauk needs to make better decisions to allow for Wake Forest to have a balanced attack. He should have a much better junior season. They should be a middle of the pack team on Special Teams even with the departure of Dan Plackemeier. How they fare against their non-conference opponents will tell the tale of how Wake Forest does this year. They could sweep the board if they bring their best effort to every game, and would enter ACC play very confident if that was to happen. They will at the very least play a vicious spoiler to the elite of the ACC, and play in a bowl game for the second time in the Grobe era.

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Last season the North Carolina State Wolfpack entered the season with a lot of optimism with a large group of returnees and a rock solid Defense. The season opener against the VTECH Hokies was chilling sign of things to come. Though they doubled the Hokies in yards gained they lost the game 20-16, and shot themselves in the foot with costly turnovers and penalties. These trends continued for the next 6 games, but they did turn it around when they won 5 of their last six to make it to a bowl game. The NFL draft has taken a lot of this team’s talent on “D”, with only 5 guys coming back. But, HC Chuck Amato believes in depth and has 15 players return with at least one start under their belt. The front 7 might have lost a step but the secondary is a strong unit with lots of speed. Though not as good as years past this will still be a good strong unit. Offensively, NC State will rely on its running game RB’s Andre Brown and Toney Baker combined for over 1200+ yards last year. QB Marcus Stone went 5-1 as the Wolfpack pivot, and will need to play mistake free football to provide enough of a passing threat to allow the run a chance against the opposing defense. Special Teams are in check with John Deraney who kicks and punts, and WR Darrell Blackman is an All ACC kick returner. The schedule is a little easier to handle this time around, and they get seven games at home. Teams have an easier time rebounding when nobody expects it, so look for the North Carolina State Wolfpack to see the bowl season again in 2006.

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Head Coach Ralph Friedgen and the Maryland Terrapins have had a strange tenure thus far. In his first three seasons, the Terps went 31-8 and played in three straight bowl games and won two of them. However, they’ve put forth consecutive 5-6 campaigns and haven’t been to a bowl game since. Friedgen has had it, and stated “He’s tired of losing. It’s time to start winning again.” This is not that easy to correct after losing a number of key players, with only 13 returning starters. QB Sam Hollenbach will lead the Offense, but the talent around him is very young having lost 5 of last years WR. So they have to rely on RB Josh Allen who returns after missing all 2005 and second Team ACC RB Lance Ball who last year rushed for nearly 1000 yards. They might just have the deepest team in the NCAA on the O-Line which is a plus. This means the Terps should have one or two 1000 yard rushers this season. A lot hinges on the QB Hollenbach not throwing as many picks and increasing their offense in the red zone. If so, look for Maryland to be a dominant offensive team. Defensively, they are far from perfect, but 7 returnees will be sure to help the cause. HC Friedgen thinks this squad could be as good as his 2003 team that held opponents to 16 PPG and 308 YPG. Special Teams showcases an excellent punter in Adam Podlesh whose been 2nd Team ACC three straight years, and upgraded at the kicker position. In the first month of the season it will be easy to measure the success of the program. Only a trip to Morgantown looks to be a loss in the here and now, but it will get the team ready for the ACC road with games at Virginia, Clemson, GTECH, and BC. HC Friedgen has shown that he can win in College Park, but Maryland’s football future in this division have been called into question after two bad seasons. The Terps should be a .500 team which might be hard to swallow, but could develop into a force in the near future.
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The Florida State Seminoles have lost 3 or more games but won 8 in each of its last 3 seasons. They did beat the Virginia Tech Hokies in the ACC Championship game, but lost in the Orange Bowl against Penn State. Head Coach Bobby Bowden has rough waters ahead of him with only 11 returnees, but the ability to improve is there as is always the case with all the Florida programs. Drew Weatherford will lead the offense and he had a great season in 2005. He broke Philip Rivers’ ACC freshman passing record by tossing for 3,208 yards and 18 touchdowns, and became the first freshman to lead the league in total offense. However, the Florida State Seminoles ground game was anemic (94 YPG), which was the worst of Bowden’s tenure. They pack a solid 1-2 punch with RB’s Antone Smith and Lorenzo Booker, but the five guys back on the O-Line have to become more dominant if they’re to do well. Look for a more balanced attack this season, and for the Noles to increase the 29 PPG they averaged a last year. Revamping the defense is a standard chore for veteran Defensive Coordinator Mickey Andrews, but this season it will be even more difficult. Six of their top seven tacklers will be replaced by much younger talent. The skill is on hand though, so it will not take long for the Defense to make their mark once again. Everyone knows Florida State is not solid in the kicking game, and the new kicker on the block is Gary Cismesia who had a brutal Orange Bowl. They are in need of some more help in the return game and until they find it expect the ST stats to drop.

Even with only 11 guys coming back, there’s plenty of veterans and talent on board. They have a very light schedule that gave them eight home games for the first time ever. All of the road games are winnable except for their season opener, so expect the Florida State Seminoles to compete to repeat as the ACC Atlantic Champs the whole season long, and possibly be in the hunt for the National Championship.

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After going 6-5 in ‘04, the Clemson Tigers set their goal to reach a bowl eligible record and leapfrog it. They finished the regular season with seven wins, and got their eighth in the Champs Sports Bowl where they ousted Colorado 19-10. Clemson closed last season by winning four strait games, and six of its last seven. Their 4 losses only gave up a combined 14 points, and Head Coach Tommy Bowden’s tenure could be in store for their best campaign yet. The Tigers return 15 starters from last year, and are aiming at their first-ever BCS berth. The offense loses Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, but new QB Will Proctor is more of the prototypical QB that Offensive Coordinator Rob Spence likes using in his offense. He has the mobility to torch defenses with his legs if he can’t find anything downfield that will allow the Tigers to toss the ball. This will mean more TDs this season for Clemson. His O-Line returns completely intact and is one of the best in the Conference. RB James Davis was chasing his 1000-yard season but fell short cut when he suffered an injury, but he should become the first 1000-yard Clemson RB since 2001 provided he stays healthy. All of last year’s receivers are also back, which gives the Tigers a solid shot of surpassing the 27 PPG they averaged last year even with the loss of their QB. The defense struggled early last season turned it around in the final seven games only allowing 14 or more points twice. Injuries aside, there shouldn’t be a drop in production this year as this is a strong compliment to their solid offense. Special teams look special. All of the key players have returned, and they add some new players to the mix that should have this unit back on track in ‘06.

Clemson has the most veterans in the ACC. They have solid coaching with their talent should achieve their first ever BCS Bowl invite. If they’re able to keep up what they did last year, than this is a team to look out for. The schedule is brutal with road trips to BC, VTECH and Florida State but this team did beat three top 20 teams for the first time since 1989. Assuming they split their first two road games they should be in very good shape.

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The Boston College Eagles first season in the ACC has to be considered a positive even though the bowl committee sent them out east to play on the “Smurf Turf”. Head Coach Tom O’Brien’s team went on to win nine games, and beat Boise State on the road which says a lot. The sixth strait bowl win gives BC the longest streak in the NCAA. This year’s team returns 12 starters, six O, six D. Slinger Matt Ryan is back to lead the offense after tossing for 1514 yards and eight TDs in only five starts. Though the Wide-outs are deep and talented they did lose one of their best deep threats. The ground game packs a punch with the solid duo of Andre Callender and LV Whitworth. The Offensive Line could be a fault where a pair of All ACC players will have to be replaced. HC O’Brien always fields a solid O-Line, but it looks like this year’s might need a bit more time to develop and the offense will suffer because of it. There’s a pair of gigantic holes to fill on defense at LB and DE with the departure of Ray Henderson and Mathias Kiwanuka. LB Brian Toal will take on more of a role defensively, as well as be BC’s short yardage gainer on offense. The secondary looks to be in good shape with ‘05 leading tackler Jamie Silva, Ryan Glasper, and DeJuan Tribble all returning. It will be hard for the Boston College Eagles to match the 16 PPG they gave up last season, but this will still be a strong unit. Special teams should also be improved as O’Brien usually puts forth winning teams.

QB Ryan must start every game, the re-vamped O-Line must gel quickly, and BC’s defense must fill the holes in its front seven for the Eagles to keep pace in the division. If they do, BC will go bowling again, and have a shot at extending its streak. HC O’Brien needs three more wins to become the Eagles all time winningest coach. He should achieve that in the first 6 games.

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The Virginia Tech Hokies looked like one of the best in the NCAA last season, but then the Miami Hurricanes came to town in early November and brought them back down to earth. Still, the Hokies won 11 games and have now gone bowling for 13 consecutive seasons. Head Coach Frank Beamer’s team brings back 10 starters from last year’s team that took home the Coastal Division crown for the second strait year, and beat Louisville in the Gator Bowl. There’s still plenty of talent on the roster, but there are still a few question marks. The main one comes at QB where a decent replacement needs to be found for the early departed Marcus Vick. The running game depends on Brandon Ore’s injured shoulder, and the O-Line needs to replace three all ACC players. The Hokies always put out an effective offense, and this year should be no exception. Defense is a completely different story though. Playmakers and veterans are all over the roster, and the Hokies will showcase one of the best stop units in the NCAA. On the D-Line, the Hokies will make life hard for opposing lines with a defensive front that is extremely deep as well as two of the country’s best inside LB in Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi. The DB unit is loaded with talent and depth as well to stop most teams through the air. In the last 2 seasons they gave up under an average of 13 PPG, and that could be a stat they repeat if the lack of offense doesn’t run them ragged. The special teams unit returns completely intact, and will not disappoint under this coaching staff.

With this roster the Virginia Tech Hokies are about a year away from a national title. There’s just too many holes on the offensive side of the ball, and it doesn’t matter how good your defense is if you can’t score the points or keep the clock running. Still, the Hokies will be a very tough team in the Coastal, and have a great shot at winning it for the third strait season. A trip to the Miami Hurricanes will ultimately decide their fate, but there’s no doubt they’ll be bowling for the 14th consecutive season.

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