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05 October 2009
Early in the season a University of Tennessee fan (allegedly) placed a post on popular internet swap meet site Craig's List for the services of their quarterback Jonathon Crompton. In that spirit we offer you the best deals going today in college sports.
For Sale: One referee jersey. Location: Athens, GA. Price: one SEC win. Item Description: For sale is one gently used, but media-worn SEC football official. Decision making is questionable, but will draw media attention for your conference. Flag throwing ability is above average and ability to keep excitement in a stadium past the time when a game should be over is off the charts. If you're looking for a greenhorn we're sorry, he already goes by the name of Mikey. He's pretty set on it but may be willing to adopt a new name if your conference contains any mascots resembling a canine.
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05 October 2009
We all know I'm a Gator at heart. I love Tim Tebow, and I'm not ashamed to say it. I think they have the best coach in the country, the most pure talent in the country, and arguably the best QB to ever play college football.
But I'm still lacking confidence heading into the LSU showdown this Saturday. LSU has very similar athletes, a very good coach, and an unbelievable home atmosphere that will be as raucous as ever on Saturday night.
So with five full days to fret about a game with huge national title implications, I've had to develop a routine to keep myself calm. I do this not only for my own inner peace, but also to save the lives of people around me who have the nerve to ask me about the game. Some people may say I'm wound too tightly. Others may say I need to get a life. Both of these are probably true.
But nevertheless, and without further ado, here is how to treat the week of a big game.
Monday - Ignore the headlines. Yes, Tebow may have been held out of practice today. But even as I feel tears welling in my eyes, I have to remind myself it's only Monday. He has plenty of time to rest and make sure he's ready to go. There's no point in getting too wrapped up in whatever headlines are coming out at this point....a lot can happen in the next few days.
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05 October 2009
A look back at the most entertaining weekend of college football so far this year...
SEC referees need to relax. The yellow flags were flying around like crazy during the LSU/Georgia game. Most of the time, they were for celebration penalties after big plays or touchdowns. I never saw any player do anything that warranted a flag. I know there was supposed to be a big crackdown on excessive celebrations, but the kids need to be able to celebrate a little. UGA scored late in the game and got a celebration penalty, forcing them to kickoff from their 15 yard line. LSU took full advantage of it and ended up scoring the game-winning TD quickly. I bet on the Tigers so I didn't mind the flag, had I been a Georgia fan, my reaction would probably have been quite different. Be better, SEC officials.- Michigan is still a year away. A 4-0 start had made believers all over the country in the Wolverines. Saturday's no-show (save for the last five minutes of regulation) leaves a lot of questions. Why can't the offense play well except when they're under pressure? Can the defense stop anybody? What is the purpose of that red flag on Michigan's sideline every week? The Wolverines go to Iowa City for a primetime game with the Hawkeyes on Saturday night. Kirk Ferentz looked like the genius he is again, in beating Arkansas State by 3 on Saturday (sarcasm level: high). I'd expect the entire state of Iowa to be at the game this week, mainly because there is nothing else to do in Iowa on a Saturday night.
- Kentucky fans are ridiculous and hilarious. Kentucky played Alabama on Saturday. Alabama has one of the best defenses in the country. Kentucky fans seemed shocked and started booing when their average QB, Mike Hartline, didn't play well against the Tide. I guess Wildcat fans expected Hartline to come out and be Tom Brady, but he was still Mike Hartline. As I talked about last week, fans will want someone else to QB the 'Cats. There isn't a better option on the team, so quit bitching about it. Also, if you are pissed about Nick Saban running a fake field goal at the end of the game, stop it. If Kentucky had played better, they wouldn't have been in that position. Saban is really good at coaching football, you are not.
- Could the BCS Title Game also decide "Team of the Decade?" Five teams look to be aiming for two spots in the title game: Florida, Texas, Alabama, LSU and USC (I don't want to hear about Boise State or Cincinnati). Four of those teams (all but Alabama) could all make cases for being the team of the 2000s. Florida and LSU have both won two BCS Titles in the decade. USC won one BCS Title and one AP. Texas also has one. While it's a fictional award, it's still fun to talk about. If any of the four win the title, they will be crowned Team of the Decade. Florida plays LSU Saturday and will most likely face Alabama (or LSU again) in the SEC Title game. LSU and 'Bama still play each other. Texas still plays four ranked teams. USC still has to play at Notre Dame and at Oregon. The next two months should give us a lot of good football and a lot of good drama.
Only a few more days until a day of Keeneland and Michigan on primetime. I hope I'm still around to recap next week...
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02 October 2009
Nevermind Lane Kiffin calling out his team on the radio. Nevermind David Oku telling the world via live chat that he hasn't been hit hard all year, or that if you want to play XBOX Live with him, just lookup gamertag DROKUJR. Nevermind Tebow's week off and Brubaker's care packages. Nevermind Michigan and it's 4-0 record being a 3.5 point dog to a 1-3 State. Nevermind that Bama bet on the road. Nevermind.
We got some games tomorrow!
Three games with both teams ranked, plus some top shelf SEC inter-division play. And a boatload of good games between 7 and 10. What are you gonna do? Boil some beer into brats? I tried, no one will with me.
As you can see in the sidebar, Holly and Bru are inching ahead of the field with Cohron in tow. I have no excuse for myself (1/7 last week), and have never had one for Burnsy. ERIC!! and Colin are comfortably in the middle, where it's warm and cozy beside two-time defending champ Ian.
As a good friend of mine has said in narration of our weekend activities... "Lookout world, here we don't come!"
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01 October 2009
I used to gamble on college football. I was awful. Actually, I was so awful that people started betting the opposite I did and made decent money that way. So, if I did still bet, these would be my bets for the upcoming weekend. Bet against me and make a lot of cash.
LSU (+3) @ Georgia: Some of you (like me) may have bet on LSU last week giving 13 against Mississippi State. That turned out to not be a good idea. The Tigers looked like a team just wanting to get in and out of Starkville with a win. They looked flat, but their next two games were at Georgia and at home against the #1 Florida Gators. We all should have known that LSU was not going to play well and that they would be looking ahead. Well, LSU is ready now. They will go to Athens and not only cover the 3, but the Tigers will beat the Bulldogs. Tigers get a win before they get drubbed by Florida next week, LSU 38 UGA 20.- USC (-5) @ California: USC is obviously a good team when Matt Barkley plays QB and not a very good team when he doesn't. Barkley is healthy again, so the offense should be back on track. Also, USC was faced with controversy this week when Stafon Johnson was rushed to the hospital after a freak weightlifting accident. Never downplay the, "Let's win one for...!" factor. Add that to the fact that everyone had been saying that this was the year that Cal was going to unseat USC as the Pac-10 Champion and you have a Trojan team ready to roll. If you saw any part of Cal/Oregon last week, you know Cal is a fraud. USC goes into Berkeley and mauls the Bears, USC 45 Cal 17.
- Virginia @ North Carolina (-12.5): On the first Saturday of the year, Virginia lost to William & Mary... at home... by 12 points. Before that game, did you even know that W&M had a football team? Be honest, of course you didn't. Even though I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't bet on UNC again this year, this line is too good to pass up. Plus, Virginia beat a ranked UNC team last year and I'm always a sucker for a revenge game. Also, Al Groh is right under Kirk Ferentz in my mind. If you read last week's post, you know I (to put it lightly) am not a Kirk Ferentz fan. Butch Davis makes sure this is Groh's farewell tour around the ACC, UNC 35 UVA 14.
- Florida State (-4) @ Boston College: Florida State is playing well every other week. They played well against Miami, stunk against Jacksonville St., looked like world-beaters against BYU and then were awful against South Floriday last week. To me, this is easy money. Florida State should come out and look like they did against Miami and BYU. Obviously, they lost to Miami, but they played really well and Miami is a lot better than most people thought. Boston College may catch themselves looking to next week and their date with #6 Virginia Tech, and they are coming off an emotional OT win over Wake last week. Florida State plays like they can and catches BC sleeping, FSU 24 BC 10.
- Oklahoma @ Miami (+7.5): Yes, Miami looked awful last week (just as I predicted). No team could have played the schedule the Hurricanes had and played at a high level like they would have had to for a month straight. Plus, Miami wasn't ready for all their media hype. They need to be an underdog a little while longer before they get back to the top of the mountain. Oklahoma still doesn't know who their QB will be on Saturday. Even if Sam Bradford is healthy, do you feel good about a guy with a bum shoulder going against Miami's defense? Jacory Harris will outshine whoever is directing the Sooners' offense and hopefully give us more great quotes after the game. I think Miami wins outright, but they at least cover the 7.5, Miami 31 Oklahoma 24.
Last week, I went 3-2, so I guess I wouldn't have made you any money. I'm really attempting to go 0-5 this week to make you people some cash.
In case you couldn't understand by this point, this gambling "advice" should be used only for entertainment purposes. Besides, you don't live in Vegas so you can't gamble legally. And if you do live in Vegas and you're reading this, get a life!
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30 September 2009
A list of things NOT to do on this mighty fine Wednesday. In honor of Rex Ryan's deactivating David Clowney for using Twitter to bitch about playing time. Cheer up, Dave, now you have more time to work on those dreads.
1 - Don't throw raw meat at high school girls.
2 - Don't stand 20 feet up the baseline if you are married to Chuck Knoblauch.
3 - Don't touch me.
Image via NJ.com [NJ] [SportsRubbish] [CBS]
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29 September 2009
Usage of online social networks is a growing trend in the sports world. Specifically, college athletes have started gravitating to facebook and twitter (myspace to a lesser degree). As with any other situation where a popular athlete interfaces with media and the public, these social networking sites have brought out several interesting, and at times embarrassing, comments from student athletes.
A case in point was this week's statement by Derrick Locke on the popular site facebook. Locke's comment was:
How would anyone know how we prac? Everyone keep there f***n comments to urself or n ur head!
There has been a mini uproar in local sports media over Locke's comments. Some have suggested athletes not be allowed to use the social networking sites. Others have suggested it's no big deal and athletes should just be cautioned by coaches and staff about the pitfalls of these sites. I have a much more simple solution. Privacy.
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28 September 2009
A look back at the weekend which gave us four top-ten teams losing...
Penn State's coaching is awful, the U is not all the way back, Cal is mediocre and Mississippi was ranked way too high. Penn State has beaten Iowa once this decade. When you are consistently losing to teams coached by Kirk Ferentz, it's time to head to the retirement home. Miami's tough early schedule finally caught up with them in the rain in Blacksburg. Miami is young and they'll be fine, but the BCS Champsionship hopes should be deferred to next fall. Cal got absolutely throttled by Oregon. When asked for comment, a house full of Cal fans set their bongs down and asked, "We have a football team here?" And, as for Mississippi, they were awful. Jevan Snead was supposed to be at the top of draft boards and he couldn't throw the ball to save his life. It's just shocking that Houston Nutt team played that poorly (use as much degree of sarcasm as you like).- Florida fans may like Tim Tebow too much. It was an absolute shame what happened on Saturday night to Tebow, you never want to see anyone get hurt. But, the overreaction of Florida fans in Commonwealth was a bit unsettling. People were actually crying and looked as if they might not be okay. The dude has a concussion, he'll be fine. In a related note, Florida is super good. The bye week sets up perfectly as they can get Tebow back to 100% before they visit LSU in two weeks.
- Michigan's defense isn't very good. It wasn't really a secret, but one that Indiana outed to the world. Giving up 33 points to the Hoosiers wouldn't be that bad, until you think that IU only scored 19 against Eastern Kentucky. Yikes. The good news for the Wolverines is that they are 4-0. The bad news is that there's only one more guaranteed win on the schedule. I think UM will get to a bowl, but it won't be easy.
- It's almost October, so Kentucky fans will create a QB controversy. Mike Hartline looked pretty awful on Saturday night, but who wouldn't against Florida? Kentucky fans know little about football and should really not talk about it. They booed Hartline last year until Randall Cobb started. Cobb went 1-3 as a starter. Hartline then led the Wildcats to a bowl victory and fans were back in his camp. They lauded his effort the first two games of the year, but then he plays bad against the best defense in the country and they're ready to throw him to the side again. Kentucky fan, if you're going to talk about things you know nothing about, at least let it be basketball.
There should be some great games this weekend, only four more days!
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25 September 2009
Hello, friends. Grubby passed this off to me this week. Just remember to breathe and you'll be okay.
It's another weekend filled with games that no one would watch if there were anything better on TV. Congratulations to Miami and Virginia Tech for playing the only game featuring two ranked teams. Oh well, it's football and you don't have a life anyway. In local flavor, Ian's Kentucky Wildcats host Bru's Florida Gators. The game shouldn't be close, but it has been raining in Lexington for what seems like weeks (three days) and doesn't look to stop anytime in the next year (Sunday). Will the weather affect Tebow and the might Gator offense? Probably not. They played Florida State last year in what the announcers referred to as a tsunami and came out of that game with a big win. Apparently, Tebow can walk on water... or a worse joke about him.
Moving on, let's look at last week's results. Two great young leaders in the country, Brubaker and I, went perfect. I would talk about how wonderful we are, but most of you have seen pictures of us from Keeneland. Both Holly and Ian only missed one game. Colin barely stayed above .500, but let's call that a win. Grubby picked more losers than winners. Burnsy was obviously not mentally in the game after having this happen. Even Patches couldn't console him. Eric is rumored to still be a bit tipsy from the night he and Grubby met... five weeks ago.
There's no reason to not see what kind of disasters there are after the jump. And there are PLENTY.
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23 September 2009
In college, this guy was 11-34 as a starting quarterback. He threw for 59 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. He never went to a bowl game, He never beat a ranked team, and finished his career 5-27 against the rest of his conference.
In the NFL, this same QB has compiled a 17-20 record as a starter. He has thrown 54 TDs and 37 INTs. His team has never posted a winning record, and has never advanced to the playoffs.
To make matters worse, he has a reputation for being aloof with teammates, often coming off as arrogant, condescending, and quite frankly, a jerk.
So please tell me this...why is Jay Cutler considered an elite quarterback?
I realize the guy has a strong arm. But beyond that, I fail to see why Cutler is constantly mentioned with the NFL's best QBs. Everytime I hear his name thrown in a sentence with Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or even Ben Roethlisberger, I cringe. I mean, we might as well just compare Gerald Green to LeBron James. They both jump high, right?
