This is inspired by everydayshouldbesaturday.com
Brett Farve,Vikings: Glassed over ankles, tendonitis in throwing arm, slightly separated shoulder, cut jaw, blue balls : Questionable
Percy Harvin, Vikings: Migraine. Questionable.
Tom Zbikowski, Ravens: Suffered a gash over right eye in sparring match preparing for his Friday night fight. Vision is blurred. Probable
Shawn Merriman, Bills: Missing ACL, MCL, HGH. Out indefinitely OR until new shipment comes in
Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, Browns: Murdered by the City of Cleveland. Buried under statue of Colt McCoy. Out.
Everyone, Dallas Cowboys: Shattered Super Bowl dreams, fear of tackling. Questionable.
Everyone, Dallas Cowboys: Wade Phillips fired. Upgraded to Probable.
Charles Woodson, Packers: Turf Toe, Probable.
Tom Brady, Patriots: Foot Sprain, Douchebag haircut. Questionable.
Donovan McNabb, Redskins: Conditioning. Probable until the game is on the line.
Kevin Kolb, Eagles: Andy Reid. Doubtful.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Cinq Pour Samedi
This week isn't nearly as appealing on paper as last week was, but let's hope my record continues to be quite attractive. I'm going with all favorites this week in an odd turn that I'm not crazy about, but who knows. Home teams in CAPS.
Utah (-5.5) over NOTRE DAME
There's not much I can say about this, really. Notre Dame is in shambles right now amidst tragedy and successive embarrassing losses to Navy and Tulsa. In case anyone hasn't heard yet, there was a piece in the ND student newspaper a few weeks ago calling for students to rush the field if Utah wins this game, thus giving the current group of students the honor of having witnessed the most Irish losses in a 4-year period among any class to come through the school. The Utes kissed their BCS hopes goodbye last week but should still be playing on New Year's Day if they can continue to take care of business.
OHIO STATE (-18) over Penn State
Ok, let's see how the former walk-on QB Matt McGloin does for Penn State with no variables working in his favor. He's on the road against a team that is giving up only 11 points a game at home and won't stop playing in the 3rd quarter the way Northwestern did. If Ohio State refrains from the type of mistakes that cost them the Wisconsin game and lets Terrelle Pryor and their offense play with a lead early on, I don't think Penn State will have an answer.
FLORIDA (-6.5) over South Carolina
I'm not sure where the South Carolina team that beat Alabama went, but the one I saw last week against Arkansas looked slow and out of position on defense. Florida would love to make them look just as bad in this latest Spurrier homecoming, and if the same Florida offense that beat Georgia and gave LSU all it could handle shows up, they may end up running circles around the Gamecocks' defenders. I'll take the Gators minus less than a TD at home.
Oregon (-19.5) over CALIFORNIA
This is a slight cop-out, but like Kevin said, Oregon gives you no reason to go against them. That offense just keeps coming at you and coming at you until the next thing you know there's a half a hundred points on the board. If someone picks Oregon off along the way, it's not going to be Cal.
Oklahoma State (-5.5) over TEXAS
I originally liked Texas plus the points in this game all week, but I'm having an 11th-hour change of heart. The Longhorns have lost 5 of 6 and look worse every week. Initially this game said to me "ok, let's see how good a coach Mack Brown really is now that his players are dealing with something other than prosperity." However, the other side of it got me thinking about how Mike Gundy has got to have his Cowboys smelling blood with a chance to get into the Top 10 and BCS conversation while beating Texas (for the first time in ages) along the way. I can't get the image out of my mind of Oklahoma State receivers streaking up the sidelines with the ball and running straight at Bevo. I'll take the bright orange over the burnt orange.
Last Week: 4-1-0
Season: 28-19-3
Utah (-5.5) over NOTRE DAME
There's not much I can say about this, really. Notre Dame is in shambles right now amidst tragedy and successive embarrassing losses to Navy and Tulsa. In case anyone hasn't heard yet, there was a piece in the ND student newspaper a few weeks ago calling for students to rush the field if Utah wins this game, thus giving the current group of students the honor of having witnessed the most Irish losses in a 4-year period among any class to come through the school. The Utes kissed their BCS hopes goodbye last week but should still be playing on New Year's Day if they can continue to take care of business.
OHIO STATE (-18) over Penn State
Ok, let's see how the former walk-on QB Matt McGloin does for Penn State with no variables working in his favor. He's on the road against a team that is giving up only 11 points a game at home and won't stop playing in the 3rd quarter the way Northwestern did. If Ohio State refrains from the type of mistakes that cost them the Wisconsin game and lets Terrelle Pryor and their offense play with a lead early on, I don't think Penn State will have an answer.
FLORIDA (-6.5) over South Carolina
I'm not sure where the South Carolina team that beat Alabama went, but the one I saw last week against Arkansas looked slow and out of position on defense. Florida would love to make them look just as bad in this latest Spurrier homecoming, and if the same Florida offense that beat Georgia and gave LSU all it could handle shows up, they may end up running circles around the Gamecocks' defenders. I'll take the Gators minus less than a TD at home.
Oregon (-19.5) over CALIFORNIA
This is a slight cop-out, but like Kevin said, Oregon gives you no reason to go against them. That offense just keeps coming at you and coming at you until the next thing you know there's a half a hundred points on the board. If someone picks Oregon off along the way, it's not going to be Cal.
Oklahoma State (-5.5) over TEXAS
I originally liked Texas plus the points in this game all week, but I'm having an 11th-hour change of heart. The Longhorns have lost 5 of 6 and look worse every week. Initially this game said to me "ok, let's see how good a coach Mack Brown really is now that his players are dealing with something other than prosperity." However, the other side of it got me thinking about how Mike Gundy has got to have his Cowboys smelling blood with a chance to get into the Top 10 and BCS conversation while beating Texas (for the first time in ages) along the way. I can't get the image out of my mind of Oklahoma State receivers streaking up the sidelines with the ball and running straight at Bevo. I'll take the bright orange over the burnt orange.
Last Week: 4-1-0
Season: 28-19-3
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Chris Wheeler's Elite 8
I present to you Chris Wheeler's Elite 8 Rankings awkwardly presented by Steven Colbert. Dr. Shapiro remains #1 for a record setting 128th week.
1. Dr. Shapiro
He's the best. You wouldn't know unless I told you. My hair is fake haha. Looks real though doesn't it. Well now you know who I have to thank.
2. Roy Halladay
Halladay like me has trouble sleeping. People think he's such a tireless worker during spring training because he starts working out in the wee hours of the morning. Take one guess to who peers over him until he wakes up? That's right me. Roy and I have breakfast every morning because we are the only two people who are up. You should see how fast Roy can eat an omelet.
3. Clearwater, FL
I love this place and can't wait to go back in February. Bill's Crabshack sounds pretty good right now.
4. Dockers Stain Defender
I love Khaki pants and these are my favorite. With the amount of Jello I eat these come in handy. If I spill on my pants no problem I'm covered.
5. Vitality Clinic
Another reason I can't wait to get back down to Florida. Talk about a place the revitalized my happy zone. My wife JILL has never been happier.
6. McFadden's at the Ballpark
This is my favorite place to party before and after Phillies games. I don't drink the firewater there but I love the Pepsi. I will have 3 or 4 before games, free refills! $3 buys you all the drinks you can handle after the games.
7. Pokey Reese
What a fun ball player to watch. He was two time gold glove winner and was just a solid baseball player. Ok honestly, I love his name. Pokey Resse, it doesn't get much better than that.
8. Ryan Madson
Can you imagine a better guy in the 8th spot. Did you think this wasn't going to have Wheeler humor?
Hating the Past: Foreign Language
If you are apart of the we are in America, speak English crowd like me, you probably loathed forced language classes in middle school and high school. It's always more challenging to learn things you have no interest in, but foreign languages are nearly impossible to learn when you not only don't care but are fundamentally against the course itself.
In middle school I took two years of Spanish for the first time and hated it. Year one was rather basic and my teacher was moderately attractive so blow ups were few and far between. Year two Spanish was rather annoying because my Spanish teacher doubled as my homeroom teacher. You can imagine how annoying this might be. I didn't really care for her and I put up with alot less shit then. It was obviously bad seeing her twice a day especially when Spanish class seemed to overlap into homeroom. We had it out a few times.
On the first day of class we were told that we would be picking Spanish names to replace our real names for class. The teacher would call us our Spanish names and it would be fun! At least that's what I now suppose the idea was. This did not go over well with me. My name is Kevin. Not Carlos. I'm American and not Spanish. I'm also not Chinese and named John that would be weird. So the teacher hands out a list of names and tells me to pick one off the list. Per usual I suggest something off the list. "Can I be Magglio?" "No please pick a name off the list." It would have been cool to be Magglio Ordonez, but I'll settle for Carlos Lee I thought. This was well and good for a couple weeks until we had to start writing our Spanish names on our tests. So after the first test didn't go so well, I didn't want to play her games anymore.
"Carlos, can you write this sentence on the board? Carlos doesn't answer. Carlos, can you write this on the board?
"My name is Kevin. I don't want to be called Carlos anymore."
"Everyone in my class goes but a Spanish name."
"Why? This isn't Spain, this is America and I'm an American and I want to be called by my real name"
"These are the rules of my classroom, and everyone seems to follow them but you. Now please write this sentence on the board."
This is paraphrased because my memory isn't quite that sharp but stay tuned for Part 2 of the story know as the Pete Rose incident.
In middle school I took two years of Spanish for the first time and hated it. Year one was rather basic and my teacher was moderately attractive so blow ups were few and far between. Year two Spanish was rather annoying because my Spanish teacher doubled as my homeroom teacher. You can imagine how annoying this might be. I didn't really care for her and I put up with alot less shit then. It was obviously bad seeing her twice a day especially when Spanish class seemed to overlap into homeroom. We had it out a few times.
On the first day of class we were told that we would be picking Spanish names to replace our real names for class. The teacher would call us our Spanish names and it would be fun! At least that's what I now suppose the idea was. This did not go over well with me. My name is Kevin. Not Carlos. I'm American and not Spanish. I'm also not Chinese and named John that would be weird. So the teacher hands out a list of names and tells me to pick one off the list. Per usual I suggest something off the list. "Can I be Magglio?" "No please pick a name off the list." It would have been cool to be Magglio Ordonez, but I'll settle for Carlos Lee I thought. This was well and good for a couple weeks until we had to start writing our Spanish names on our tests. So after the first test didn't go so well, I didn't want to play her games anymore.
"Carlos, can you write this sentence on the board? Carlos doesn't answer. Carlos, can you write this on the board?
"My name is Kevin. I don't want to be called Carlos anymore."
"Everyone in my class goes but a Spanish name."
"Why? This isn't Spain, this is America and I'm an American and I want to be called by my real name"
"These are the rules of my classroom, and everyone seems to follow them but you. Now please write this sentence on the board."
This is paraphrased because my memory isn't quite that sharp but stay tuned for Part 2 of the story know as the Pete Rose incident.
5 for Saturday
24-25-1 on the season after 3-2 last week. It was the first winning week in over a month. Lets keep it rolling.
Penn State @ Ohio State (-17) 3:30 ABC
I do not think Penn State will be able to run the football and McFarve's luck has run out. Penn State will need a great performance from their defense to have a chance in this one. A blowout seems to beckon though.
Georgia @ Auburn (-8) 3:30 CBS
Distractions are possible in this game after a week of shoddy reporting by the New York Times and ESPN. Allegations, true or not, ESPN had failed to get adeqaute sourcing until late yesterday to run a story like this. They ran it anyways with a third handed source, and I feel bad Newton and Auburn. I have just the slightest idea of what shoddy reporting, even if it turns out to be false can do to a person and a program.
Georgia has a pulse now but are still not a great football team. I'll take Auburn at home hear to outscore Georgia. A victory over Georgia would put Auburn in the SEC Title game.
Virgina Tech (-4) @ UNC 3:30 ESPN
This should be a pretty good game by ACC standards. In the roulette that is the ACC conference, you always bet on Tech though. Butch Davis has done a solid job of keeping the Tarheels moving forward depsite the scandal surrounding his program. If they manage to win this one, they will have a chance to go to the ACC title game.
South Carolina (+6.5) @ Florida 7:15 ESPN
Spurrier has done well against Florida in the past so I'll take the points here. It's unclear if Florida has truly turned the corner. I picked South Carolina to win this division at the begining of the year and despite 3 losses they can still go to the SEC Championship.
Oregon (-19.5) @ Cal 7:30 Versus
Cal may come out and surprise here. They are consistently inconsistent. Sometimes they look great, other times they look awful. Cal usually plays well at home, but does anyone really stand a chance against Oregon right now.
Penn State @ Ohio State (-17) 3:30 ABC
I do not think Penn State will be able to run the football and McFarve's luck has run out. Penn State will need a great performance from their defense to have a chance in this one. A blowout seems to beckon though.
Georgia @ Auburn (-8) 3:30 CBS
Distractions are possible in this game after a week of shoddy reporting by the New York Times and ESPN. Allegations, true or not, ESPN had failed to get adeqaute sourcing until late yesterday to run a story like this. They ran it anyways with a third handed source, and I feel bad Newton and Auburn. I have just the slightest idea of what shoddy reporting, even if it turns out to be false can do to a person and a program.
Georgia has a pulse now but are still not a great football team. I'll take Auburn at home hear to outscore Georgia. A victory over Georgia would put Auburn in the SEC Title game.
Virgina Tech (-4) @ UNC 3:30 ESPN
This should be a pretty good game by ACC standards. In the roulette that is the ACC conference, you always bet on Tech though. Butch Davis has done a solid job of keeping the Tarheels moving forward depsite the scandal surrounding his program. If they manage to win this one, they will have a chance to go to the ACC title game.
South Carolina (+6.5) @ Florida 7:15 ESPN
Spurrier has done well against Florida in the past so I'll take the points here. It's unclear if Florida has truly turned the corner. I picked South Carolina to win this division at the begining of the year and despite 3 losses they can still go to the SEC Championship.
Oregon (-19.5) @ Cal 7:30 Versus
Cal may come out and surprise here. They are consistently inconsistent. Sometimes they look great, other times they look awful. Cal usually plays well at home, but does anyone really stand a chance against Oregon right now.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
5 for Sunday
Ready, set, go. Home teams in CAPS.
New Orleans (-6.5) over CAROLINA
The Saints got their aggressive defense going for them again in last week's win over Pittsburgh, and if they play half as well as they did against the Steelers I can only imagine what that would mean for Matt Moore and the Panthers offense that is already without DeAngelo Williams. The Panthers are so bad that they're taking the "when in doubt, just bet against (insert team here)" status away from the Bills.
New England (-4) over CLEVELAND
The "trap game" argument is valid here, except for the fact that well-coached teams don't have trap games. Cleveland is coming off a bye, but I'm not sure if that's really helpful considering they would have liked to keep the momentum going from their Week 7 win in New Orleans. Unless they can somehow manage another 68-yard fake punt run by their punter, I don't think the Browns sneak up on the Patriots, who for the first time since the Corey Dillon days look like they have a legitimate running back in BenJarvus Green-Ellis.
Tampa Bay (+9) over ATLANTA
The Bucs are 3-0 on the road and the Falcons are 3-0 at home, so something will give here. Tampa, seemingly out of nowhere, has an offense that is young, fast, and opportunistic and I like Josh Freeman's chances of keeping them in this NFC South tilt, especially considering the Falcons don't light up the scoreboard and only have one real downfield threat. I'm not on the Buc bandwagon just yet, but this line seems 3 points too high.
Indianapolis (+3) over PHILADELPHIA
Meaningless fact pertaining this game #1: Andy Reid is 11-0 coming off a bye as coach of the Eagles. Meaningless fact pertaining to this game #2: the Eagles have never beaten Peyton Manning. Meaningful fact pertaining to this game #1: Dwight Freeney will be going up against Jason Peters. Meaningful fact pertaining to this game #2: Ellis Hobbs is out for the Eagles, leaving Dimitri Patterson to make his first NFL start against Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne.
Pittsburgh (-4.5) over CINCINNATI (Monday Night)
The Bengals are bad. The Steelers aren't bad. There's not much more to it than that. If the Pittsburgh defense forces Carson Palmer into a few mistakes, the Monday Night crowd may have to resort to booing the hell out of Ben Roethlisberger as its sole source of entertainment.
Last Week: 4-1-0
Season: 18-20-2
New Orleans (-6.5) over CAROLINA
The Saints got their aggressive defense going for them again in last week's win over Pittsburgh, and if they play half as well as they did against the Steelers I can only imagine what that would mean for Matt Moore and the Panthers offense that is already without DeAngelo Williams. The Panthers are so bad that they're taking the "when in doubt, just bet against (insert team here)" status away from the Bills.
New England (-4) over CLEVELAND
The "trap game" argument is valid here, except for the fact that well-coached teams don't have trap games. Cleveland is coming off a bye, but I'm not sure if that's really helpful considering they would have liked to keep the momentum going from their Week 7 win in New Orleans. Unless they can somehow manage another 68-yard fake punt run by their punter, I don't think the Browns sneak up on the Patriots, who for the first time since the Corey Dillon days look like they have a legitimate running back in BenJarvus Green-Ellis.
Tampa Bay (+9) over ATLANTA
The Bucs are 3-0 on the road and the Falcons are 3-0 at home, so something will give here. Tampa, seemingly out of nowhere, has an offense that is young, fast, and opportunistic and I like Josh Freeman's chances of keeping them in this NFC South tilt, especially considering the Falcons don't light up the scoreboard and only have one real downfield threat. I'm not on the Buc bandwagon just yet, but this line seems 3 points too high.
Indianapolis (+3) over PHILADELPHIA
Meaningless fact pertaining this game #1: Andy Reid is 11-0 coming off a bye as coach of the Eagles. Meaningless fact pertaining to this game #2: the Eagles have never beaten Peyton Manning. Meaningful fact pertaining to this game #1: Dwight Freeney will be going up against Jason Peters. Meaningful fact pertaining to this game #2: Ellis Hobbs is out for the Eagles, leaving Dimitri Patterson to make his first NFL start against Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne.
Pittsburgh (-4.5) over CINCINNATI (Monday Night)
The Bengals are bad. The Steelers aren't bad. There's not much more to it than that. If the Pittsburgh defense forces Carson Palmer into a few mistakes, the Monday Night crowd may have to resort to booing the hell out of Ben Roethlisberger as its sole source of entertainment.
Last Week: 4-1-0
Season: 18-20-2
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Cinq Pour Samedi
Through no intention of my own, my quest for an above-.500 NCAA season has entered ultra-conservative "run out the clock" mode where all I do is teeter around .500 every week just to protect my early-season cushion. Anyway, this week features five meetings between ranked teams, so finding five games to take a stance on was fairly easy. Home teams in CAPS.
OKLAHOMA STATE (-8.5) over Baylor
If you looked at this game back in September and tried to guess the line (although I can't begin to imagine how much of a degenerate you'd have to be to do so), this game would have looked like a 10.5-12 point job. All of a sudden, Baylor has crept into the Top 25 with consecutive wins over Kansas State and a napping Texas team. Oklahoma State gets receiver Justin Blackmon back, needs this game to keep their Big 12 chances alive, and is coming off maybe their best defensive effort of the year. Not that they exactly value defense in the Big 12, but I say the Cowboys make the few stops that the Bears don't and win it by 10-13 points, maybe 38-27.
LSU (+6.5) over Alabama
I'm going to eat my words about LSU from earlier this year and say they have a pretty good chance to end Alabama's repeat hopes this Saturday. Both teams are coming off a bye so the matchup will pretty much be at full strength, and if LSU's secondary can keep Julio Jones & Co. in front of them they should find that Greg McElroy isn't quite as tough to defend as Cameron Newton. Alabama figures to earn its keep by running the ball in this game, and 6.5 points in a run-heavy game at home is enough to make me go with my first instinct. Despite the game being in Death Valley, LSU is going to have to make the ticking clock its 12th man, as their chances of winning go down mightily if it becomes necessary to score more than 21 points.
Texas Christian (-5) over UTAH
Call this the battle of the non-Boises. I'm looking forward to seeing these teams play each other and the winner make their case as the non-AQ that deserves to go to the dance. Each team has taken turns pounding the hell out of their conference up to this point, with the exception being Utah's 28-23 squeaker where they were outgained by Air Force last week. The points at home for Utah are tempting here, but TCU rushes for 270 yards a game - I don't care who you play, that is impressive. The Horned Frogs should be able to hold the ball and take the Utah crowd out of the game as time goes by. The Utes have a very good defense in their own right (267 ypg), but as long as football has been played, a team that can run the ball can do almost anything it wants. I think TCU puts it away with a late, clock-eating TD drive.
Arkansas (+4.5) over SOUTH CAROLINA
Not sure why this line is more than 3, unless people are comparing these teams to each other by looking at how each team played Auburn (a 65-43 loss for Arkansas and a 35-27 loss for South Carolina). However, they're not playing Auburn, they're playing each other. In that case, the fact that the Gamecocks give up 260 yards passing a game (286 ypg at home to boot) while Arkansas throws for 360 a game (#2 in the country) is more than enough to convince me to take the 4.5 here.
Arizona (+9.5) over STANFORD
The winner of this game emerges as a Rose Bowl frontrunner, assuming Oregon stays on track. The Wildcats enter this game giving up only 88 yards rushing per game and 2.6 yards per carry, and if that isn't enough to make you think they can stay within 9 of Stanford, then consider that this line opened at 7, so a bet for Arizona is a bet against the public.
Last Week: 2-3-0
Season: 24-18-3
OKLAHOMA STATE (-8.5) over Baylor
If you looked at this game back in September and tried to guess the line (although I can't begin to imagine how much of a degenerate you'd have to be to do so), this game would have looked like a 10.5-12 point job. All of a sudden, Baylor has crept into the Top 25 with consecutive wins over Kansas State and a napping Texas team. Oklahoma State gets receiver Justin Blackmon back, needs this game to keep their Big 12 chances alive, and is coming off maybe their best defensive effort of the year. Not that they exactly value defense in the Big 12, but I say the Cowboys make the few stops that the Bears don't and win it by 10-13 points, maybe 38-27.
LSU (+6.5) over Alabama
I'm going to eat my words about LSU from earlier this year and say they have a pretty good chance to end Alabama's repeat hopes this Saturday. Both teams are coming off a bye so the matchup will pretty much be at full strength, and if LSU's secondary can keep Julio Jones & Co. in front of them they should find that Greg McElroy isn't quite as tough to defend as Cameron Newton. Alabama figures to earn its keep by running the ball in this game, and 6.5 points in a run-heavy game at home is enough to make me go with my first instinct. Despite the game being in Death Valley, LSU is going to have to make the ticking clock its 12th man, as their chances of winning go down mightily if it becomes necessary to score more than 21 points.
Texas Christian (-5) over UTAH
Call this the battle of the non-Boises. I'm looking forward to seeing these teams play each other and the winner make their case as the non-AQ that deserves to go to the dance. Each team has taken turns pounding the hell out of their conference up to this point, with the exception being Utah's 28-23 squeaker where they were outgained by Air Force last week. The points at home for Utah are tempting here, but TCU rushes for 270 yards a game - I don't care who you play, that is impressive. The Horned Frogs should be able to hold the ball and take the Utah crowd out of the game as time goes by. The Utes have a very good defense in their own right (267 ypg), but as long as football has been played, a team that can run the ball can do almost anything it wants. I think TCU puts it away with a late, clock-eating TD drive.
Arkansas (+4.5) over SOUTH CAROLINA
Not sure why this line is more than 3, unless people are comparing these teams to each other by looking at how each team played Auburn (a 65-43 loss for Arkansas and a 35-27 loss for South Carolina). However, they're not playing Auburn, they're playing each other. In that case, the fact that the Gamecocks give up 260 yards passing a game (286 ypg at home to boot) while Arkansas throws for 360 a game (#2 in the country) is more than enough to convince me to take the 4.5 here.
Arizona (+9.5) over STANFORD
The winner of this game emerges as a Rose Bowl frontrunner, assuming Oregon stays on track. The Wildcats enter this game giving up only 88 yards rushing per game and 2.6 yards per carry, and if that isn't enough to make you think they can stay within 9 of Stanford, then consider that this line opened at 7, so a bet for Arizona is a bet against the public.
Last Week: 2-3-0
Season: 24-18-3
C'Mon Man!
Every now and then you have to give ESPN its due, and I'll gladly say the "C'Mon Man!" segments during Monday Night Countdown are pretty funny. For those who did not watch the video I linked to, "C'mon Man!" is something of a blooper reel from the previous day's NFL games, in which each studio guy points out someone who did something stupid, goofy, annoying, or all of the above. Every time I see the segment, I feel obligated to relate it to recent people and happenings from my life and all of our lives. So, here goes:
-The Princeton Junction NJ Transit station, for giving me a $60 parking ticket for parking in the farthest stretch of their lot, in off-peak hours while all the permit holders already had a spot and there were about 100 empty spots left over. C'mon man!
-Jason Garrett and his "I went to Princeton and I want to remind you guys every chance I get how smart I am" approach to playcalling. C'mon man!
-Whoever the decision-makers are behind 75% of this year's especially terrible political commercials leading up to Election Day. C'mon man!
-Roger Goodell and the NFL's higher-ups, who in one breath tell you the game has gotten too dangerous, and in the next breath tell you the regular season should be 18 games long. C'mon man!
-Anyone I've been stuck behind on a golf course in the past 5 months. C'mon man!
-The guy who eats tuna from the can at work and stinks up the whole floor. C'mon man!
-The AL and NL Central, whose champions each got swept out of the Division Series (even though I wasn't rooting for either of them). C'mon man!
-Dudes who do curls while standing in a squat rack. C'mon man!
-Javier Vazquez, AJ Burnett, and pretty much every Yankee pitcher not named Andy, CC, Phil, Kerry, or Mariano. C'mon man!
-Dallas area sports fans and Cowboys season ticket holders, for allowing the Cowboys-Bears game in Week 2 to be played in front of 35-40% Bears fans. C'mon man!
-Anyone who plays softball and yells "left foot!" when a left handed batter comes to the plate. What the hell is "left foot?" That's the stupidest goddamn thing I've heard in my life. C'mon man!
-People who change lanes in a tight spot without signaling. C'mon man!
-Vinny from Jersey Shore acting like a total sucker for that Ramona girl in Miami. She had a body like a 10 but a face like a Yogi Berra 1953 game-used catcher's mitt. C'mon man!
-Anyone who buys jewelry from a store such as Jared, Kay, or anywhere else that makes those putrid commercials that will be consistently polluting my TV for the next 8 weeks. Buying jewelry is fine. Buying from one of those stores? Not fine. You are not only indirectly supporting those commercials, but you are also potentially contributing to more of this utter garbage down the road. C'mon man!
-Those who have lived in the Northeast their whole lives yet still react as if the next Ice Age is imminent once November hits and we see highs of less than 60. Not only does this happen every year, but two months from now you'll be killing for this kind of weather. C'mon man!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
5 for Saturday
1-4 last week and I am in a tailspin as bad as Michigan football. 21-23-1 on the season now.
Georgia Tech (+13.5) @ Virginia Tech 7:30 Thursday ESPN
I would guess this game is close based on the run game of Georiga Tech and a chained up offense of Va Tech.
Baylor (+7.5) @ Oklahoma St. 12:30 FSN Saturday
Maybe Baylor isn't ready for prime time but Oklahoma State isn't exactly a dominating team either. Robert Griffin III will keep this close.
TCU (-5) @ Utah 3:30 CSTV
One team will finally lose all the hype in the polls they have gotten. For the record, both these teams have had better programs than Boise St and would be far more deserving than Boise St. in the event a mid major goes to the title game. Having said that, come year end no mid major will have done enough to deserve a title game appearance.
Alabama (-6) @ LSU 3:30 CBS
Bama still has Mythical National Championship hopes in mind. LSU has come along on offense a little bit but they should struggle to get to 17 points in this game. An LSU win would leave Auburn as the only hope for another SEC MNC.
Arizona @ Stanford (-9.5) 8 ABC/ Gameplan
There is public overeaction to this line but I still like Stanford here. They are the better team by a touchdown and are playing at home. That should make up 10 points.
Georgia Tech (+13.5) @ Virginia Tech 7:30 Thursday ESPN
I would guess this game is close based on the run game of Georiga Tech and a chained up offense of Va Tech.
Baylor (+7.5) @ Oklahoma St. 12:30 FSN Saturday
Maybe Baylor isn't ready for prime time but Oklahoma State isn't exactly a dominating team either. Robert Griffin III will keep this close.
TCU (-5) @ Utah 3:30 CSTV
One team will finally lose all the hype in the polls they have gotten. For the record, both these teams have had better programs than Boise St and would be far more deserving than Boise St. in the event a mid major goes to the title game. Having said that, come year end no mid major will have done enough to deserve a title game appearance.
Alabama (-6) @ LSU 3:30 CBS
Bama still has Mythical National Championship hopes in mind. LSU has come along on offense a little bit but they should struggle to get to 17 points in this game. An LSU win would leave Auburn as the only hope for another SEC MNC.
Arizona @ Stanford (-9.5) 8 ABC/ Gameplan
There is public overeaction to this line but I still like Stanford here. They are the better team by a touchdown and are playing at home. That should make up 10 points.
Transgender to Play Women's Basketball
From ESPN.com
A female-to-male transgender member of the George Washington women's basketball team wants to be identified as a man this season.
Junior Kye Allums -- who used to be known as Kay-Kay -- is referred to on the school's website as a "male member of George Washington's women's basketball team."
"GW has been supportive during this transition. This means a lot. I didn't choose to be born in this body and feel the way I do. I decided to transition -- that is, change my name and pronouns -- because it bothered me to hide who I am, and I am trying to help myself and others to be who they are," Allums said in a statement posted Tuesday on the website.
"I told my teammates first, and they, including my coaches, have supported me. My teammates have embraced me as the big brother of the team," continued Allums, who turned 21 last month. "They have been my family, and I love them all."
A story posted Monday on outsports.com reported that "Allums will be the first publicly transgender person" to play NCAA Division I college basketball. NCAA spokesman Rick Nixon did not immediately reply to a request for comment Tuesday from the AP.
Not to worry, NAGAYT has tracked down the story and has received comment from NCAA Spokesman Rick Nixon. Nixon was surprised to learn of the story yesterday and when asked what the NCAA intends to do he was candid.
"How the hell should I know? I mean what do you do with something like that? This Shim seems to be using an unfair advantage playing on the women's team. The good thing is that with this being women's basketball, no one cares. This story will pass in a few days and everyone can go back to ignoring the sport.
George Washington has throw their support behind Kyle, formerly know as Kye. Nixon believes GW is at a loss for what has taken place. "I mean in this day in age you can't ask someone to drop their pants before they play. You can't check the equipment down there, coaches have gotten in trouble for that in the past. GW is being PC and is taking the high road. Its the female sport with possibly the lowest form of entertainment so what do they care?
Allums started 20 games for George Washington last season, averaging 7.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 24.9 minutes. Allums scored a career-high 21 points in a 58-50 victory over La Salle on Jan. 24.
La Salle's coach last season has since been fired. Some believe it was in large part to the embarrassing defeat to GW. Tom Locker disagreed with the fact that Kye impact made a big difference. "I could have used our whole men's team and we still would have lost the game. I mean have you seen how awful Giannini's team is?"
A side note, there is a former Cherry Hill East player on this team.
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