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24 September 2010
My performance last week was less than stellar. I started off great, with the first two picks (Arkansas and Penn State) hitting. Sadly, I didn't have another winner all day. The two that hurt the most were Auburn and Notre Dame. I felt great about both, and they both had interesting overtime situations, but interesting overtime situations don't win people money. Also, some are calling into question my Week 2 picks. You can question them all you want, but there's a time stamp on those texts. Let's get on with the Week 4 picks.
LSU -10 @ West Virginia; This line started at 6 on Monday. Obviously, the wiseguys really like LSU and so do I. I watched West Virginia play once this year, on the road at Marshall. They had to make a miracle comeback just to eke out a win. The Marshall crowd will very much pale in comparison to the LSU crowd tomorrow night. The loudest stadium in the country will be going wild and the Tiger fans will be drunk off whatever Cajuns drink. Bet on LSU to drub West Virginia.- Penn State -13.5 vs. Temple; It's that time of the year where I start betting the same teams every week. Yes, Penn State is one of those teams. I don't understand this line at all. Penn State has talent that is far superior to Temple and this game shouldn't be close. Maybe it's a sucker bet, but I'm taking the Nittany Lions to win really big this weekend. Also, Joe Paterno is old.
- Oklahoma -14 @ Cincinnati; This is another line that makes no sense to me. Cincinnati is absolutely terrible and Oklahoma has very good talent. Cincinnati has almost no homefield advantage, because the school is in the middle of the ghetto and people are scared to go there. Even if Brian Kelly can't defend a fake field goal, he's still a hell of a coach and he's not in Cincy anymore. The Bearcats are going to get annihilated by the Sooners. Bet Bob Stoops because it's not a big game.
- Notre Dame +4.5 vs. Stanford; There is absolutely no reason to bet on Notre Dame this week: they lost a heartbreaker last week, they're playing one of the best QBs in the country and they're Notre Dame. But, all those reasons lead me to believe that the Irish are going to show up in a big way against the Cardinal. I'm not calling for the outright win, but they'll keep it close.
- Tennessee -14 vs. UAB; This is going to be a feel-good game for the Vols. They've lost two games in a row to top-ten teams and they are just waiting for some guys to play that aren't superstars. Enter, UAB. Derek Dooley will let the offense run wild all day long and put a beatdown on the Blazers. Bet the Vols big and look for Grubby on TV.
- Florida -14 vs. UK; Just in case you didn't read the mailbag, I think there is NO chance that Kentucky will beat Florida. Kentucky may have had a chance to keep it close, but then multiple people at ESPN started calling for the upset. Urban Meyer isn't going to let that happen. Coach Meyer will also keep things conservative and run the ball quite a bit (as to not show anything to next week's opponent, Alabama). That doesn't bode well for Kentucky, as they couldn't stop the run even if I were the other team's running back. Florida will do what Florida always does: beat the hell out of Kentucky.
Last week: 2-3-1
Season: 9-6-3
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22 September 2010
You wouldn't think it, but we get hundreds (if not thousands) of emails a week from StadiumDrives.com readers. Some of them tell us how great we are, others how bad we are. Often, we'll get tips of stories. Sometimes, sites will even let us know that they stole our work, it was a hit on their site and thank us. Others just write in for advice or have questions about their life. I decided to give the old inbox a cleaning again and pick out some of the best (and worst) emails.* If you can't decipher our e-mail address from the sidebar and would like to send something in, send it via Twitter to @JoshCohron.
"Cleaning Out The Inbox" got renewed for a second season! I, for one, couldn't be happier. It was not an easy road for it to get renewed. "Cleaning Out The Inbox" was competing against "Nothing Being Written" and "Bloguin DeActivates StadiumDrives.com Due To Lack Of Content." Regardless, I hope to make Season 2 as good or better than Season 1, then make Seasons 3-7 suck... kind of like "The Office." Anyway, on to your questions.
You haven't cleaned out your stupid website's inbox in months. I bet the hate mail from girls has taken up all the space on Yahoo's poor servers. Also, go f*ck yourself. - (name withheld) (location irrelevant)
This was the cleanest email I could find to put as this week's "Email from a girl who writes in to let me know of her disdain for me." I deleted a lot of the others as they were just suggestions to watch awful music videos of 'rappers.'
What is it about Philadelphia that makes all of their sports fans mouthbreathing booger eaters? - @TylerKY
I assume that Philadelphians are still upset about the Fresh Prince's mom sending him to live in Bel Air because he got in one little fight. It was just one little fight! Why did his mom get so scared? People in Philadelphia may never recover from the loss of the Fresh Prince and will always feel the need to be mindless and moronic when it comes to their sports teams.
Take this Eagles QB controversy, for example. Philly fans wanted to run off Donovan McNabb for years. Keep in mind, McNabb had taken them to five NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl. This off-season, the mouthbreathing fans got their wish and the Eagles traded McNabb in the division to the Redskins. Fans in Philly rejoiced, "Kevin Kolb is the best! He will lead us to the Super Bowl! F*ck you, Donovan McNabb!!!" The Kevin Kolb elation lasted less than one half of regular season football. Now, the same moron fans think that Mike Vick is the answer.
Has Mike Vick been impressive in six quarters this year? Yeah, he's been pretty good. He was also playing against a Green Bay defense that was in the prevent defense for most of the half he played them. Then, in his first full game in years, Vick had a masterful performance... against the Lions. The Lions are awful. Mike Hartline could look good against the Lions.
All that to say, 92% of people in Philadelphia are mouthbreathing morons. And I blame you, Fresh Prince's mom.
Do you think it is Joe Namath’s fault that Braylon Edwards got a DWI? Namath publicly criticized Edwards last week stating that he cannot catch a football. Maybe Braylon was trying to cope with Namath’s comments by drowning his sorrows. Speaking of NFL pricks, do you like Tom Brady with his hair short or his current Justin Bieber hair style? - @swgullett
Wow, that's a hell of a question. First off, I can't have Joe Namath and drinking in the same question and not have this video nearby.
That just never gets old. While it would be easy to blame Broadway Joe for the DWI, I just can't. It's not like Namath was the first person to bring up the fact that Braylon looks like he plays with WD-40 on his gloves. Plus, if Joe Namath is to blame, I guess I'm partly to blame as well. As great as Braylon was when he played for Michigan, I probably screamed some obscenities his way after a dropped ball or twelve. So, no, I won't blame Joe Namath for Braylon's DWI, but here are some people I will blame:
- Rich Rodriguez - for ruining the once great University of Michigan
- Rex Ryan - for stealing Braylon's lunch
- The referee that called an excessive celebration penalty on him on Sunday - can't a guy Dougie in peace?
- Ohio State - can't they let Michigan win once in a while?
- Mark Sanchez - for not being very good at football
- LeBron James - people blame him for everything else, why not this too?
- Rex Ryan - for stealing Braylon's dinner
As for Tom Brady, he can do no wrong. He could get those ridiculous white guy dreads and he would still be the greatest human on the planet. It was refreshing to get to talk about successful Michigan football players like Braylon and Tom Brady, they're so different than most of the guys on the current roster.
KENTUCKY IS GOING TO WHIP FLORIDA ON SATURDAY. I CAN FEEL IT. THE GATERS ARE NOT READY FOR THEM CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Jimmy, Pippa Passes, KY
This is an all too common sentiment around Kentucky this weekend. I keep hearing these people talking about how this is Kentucky's year to end the streak against Florida. This is a completely inane thing to say. Randall Cobb is the ONLY Kentucky player that would start for Florida. That means that Florida is better at Kentucky at 21 (of 22, for you math majors) positions. Also, this game is at night in Gainesville. Florida fans will have plenty of time to get oiled up for the game and The Swamp should be pretty rowdy... for the first half.
Also, I loved this article from the increasingly awful Herald-Leader. Mark Story actually wrote an entire newspaper article on one sack from a game that Kentucky lost 41-7. This is why Kentucky can't win. Kentucky fans hang their hats on sacking Tim Tebow and overlook the 34 point ass beating. Florida fans hang their hats on National Championships. Mark it down, Florida will beat Kentucky by multiple touchdowns on Saturday night.
Thanks for reading. Please submit question's for the next installment. Also, please tell your friends. If all five of you tell one friend to read next week, there would be ten people that read this. That would make me feel just special.
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17 September 2010
I wrote one of these for Week 1 of the college schedule, but was out of town and couldn't write one last week. I was putrid the first week, going 1-3-2. For those keeping score at home, that is one win, three losses and two pushes. How in the hell I could get two pushes in one week is beyond me. Anyway, I was out of town last weekend and didn't get a chance to post my great picks. A buddy of mine texted me on Saturday morning asking who I liked that day. You see our text conversation to the right. My picks are in the green (and they're timestamped so you know I'm not lying). Team USA, South Carolina, Hawaii, LSU, Michigan and Alabama all covered! I went 6-0. That is the most unlikely great weekend of gambling of all time... or something like that. Maybe my best plan of action is to not post these picks, but what fun would that be for you? Also, I did not get beat up after Michigan beat ND. Here goes nothing with the Week 3 picks (lines provided by BetUS.com)...
- Arkansas +2.5 @ Georgia; Did you see Georgia against South Carolina last week? I only ask because I didn't, but 6 points is an embarrassing total against a team that gave up 13 to Southern Mississippi the week before. Obviously, Georgia is struggling without AJ Green. Ryan Mallett has the best arm in college football and will lead the Razorbacks to the straight-up win on the road.
- Penn State -21 vs. Kent State; By no means do I think this is a great Penn State team, but they have some aggression to take out after being drubbed by Alabama last weekend. This should be a feel good game for the Nittany Lions and they won't hold back. Look for Penn State to win big. Also, look for Joe Paterno to not know where he is during the game.
- East Carolina +20 @ Virginia Tech; Under no circumstances should a team that is 0-2, that just lost to James Madison (at home!) ever be giving 20 points. Take the points and laugh at Frank Beamer.
- Hawaii +12.5 @ Colorado; It is no secret that Dan Hawkins is a terrible football coach. Are you reading that, Chris Peterson? Stay at Boise and look like a genius, or go to a BCS school and look like a moron... it's your choice. Anyway, Colorado is really bad and shouldn't be giving 12.5 points to any team in the country. Hawaii will keep this game close, if they don't win it.
Auburn -7 vs. Clemson; These schools have a lot in common: they're in the South, in very obscure towns that are hours from the interstate, have lots of hot blonde girls, both are the Tigers, I've been to both and have even more hot blonde girls. All that said, Auburn is going to crush Clemson. ESPN's Gameday is going to be in Auburn so the drunk fratboys should be real oiled up by the time the game rolls around. Look for Auburn's speed to win and win big.- Notre Dame +3 @ Michigan State; I know, I know. This goes against everything I know to pick Notre Dame to cover, but I just can't see them starting 1-2 under Brian Kelly. Yes, they got beat by Michigan last week, but Dayne Crist was out for most of the first half. Their offense was pretty good when led by him and it was stagnant (at best) when led by Nate Montana. Notre Dame will go to East Lansing and win, mark it down.
Last week: 6-0
Season: 7-3-2
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15 September 2010
Bullet points, of course...
It doesn't make sense that the NCAA can retroactively declare a player ineligible. Obviously, I'm referring to the Eric Bledsoe transcript situation. The NCAA cleared Bledsoe to play last year, so UK did what any other university would have done: they let Bledsoe play. That's the logical thing to do, right? If a player gets cleared to play, to play him? It seems that way to me. How can the NCAA now come back and say that Bledsoe wasn't eligible and penalize UK? Isn't this the NCAA's problem? After all, they're the ones who didn't do their due diligence before clearing Bledsoe to play. Then again, trying to make sense of an NCAA decision is like trying to figure out what the hell was going on in John From Cincinnati.- What the hell is Algebra 3? Am I the only one who's never heard of this? My very prestigious high school didn't offer this course, but it's one of the classes at the center of the Bledsoe situation. Do I even need to make a joke about the Alabama educational system?
- Go away, Ines Sainz. It's no secret that I like beatiful women, especially those that can talk about sports. But, this lady needs to stop. She went into the Jets locker room barely dressed and didn't expect guys to react to her? She had practically painted on her jeans! I'm not saying the Jets acted in the right, but if a woman is going into a football locker room, she should dress appropriately. Cleavage isn't appropriate in football locker rooms, except from fat linemen.
- This isn't an issue of sexual harassment or gender bias. This is an issue about proper work attire, and Sainz certainly wasn't wearing proper work attire for the work she was doing. Maybe she's smarter than all of us and intentionally wore the sexy clothes so this would all blow up and she'd get famous. I guess if that's the case, she wins. Again.
- Reggie Bush probably couldn't care less about giving back his Heisman Trophy. Oh, poor Reggie! I just hope his millions of dollars, Super Bowl ring and whatever model he's currently dating can console him. Plus, it's not like we forgot who the best player in college football was that year: Dicky Lyons Jr.
- Is it still baseball season? Seriously, I haven't heard anything about it for a while.
- I don't understand why most of America failed to acknowledge the World Basketball Championships. Team USA went and won the gold for the first time since 1994 and was largely ignored by the national media and the rest of the country. Kevin Durant was, BY FAR, the best player in the tournament and I haven't seen or heard from him since. If late night talk shows were still relevant, he should have been on some of those.
- The same media ignoring this basketball team shoved soccer down our throats for a month. Americans don't care about soccer, but were force fed it during the entire World Cup. The equivalent tournament happens two months later for basketball and I had to search the internet just to find articles about Team USA games. Let me know when our soccer team wins something, then I might care.
- Brubaker's piece about the 2012 hopefuls is superb. Seriously, read it immediately. You can always come back here to find more bullet points.
- Denard Robinson just gained another 40 yards against Notre Dame's defense.
- The Bruce Pearl story is getting funny. Seriously, Bruce. You are shown a picture of a recruit at your house and you say you don't know where the picture was taken? Yeah, you should totally still be employed. And, yes, I will regret saying all of this when Calipari gets his major violations at UK in six months (or less).
- The Bengals are going to get blacked out on Sunday. That didn't take long. Hell, even the Reds can sell out their first game of the season.
- Bachelor Pad had the worst ending of any show ever. I won't ruin it for all of you who are surely going to buy the season on DVD, but it left a lot to be desired. The "modern day Shakespeare, but better" couldn't even save it.
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13 September 2010
I may as well just write this as a letter to Smooth, since I think we're among the only people who have a passion for Team USA basketball. Most people probably spent Sunday watching the NFL, not the gold medal game in the FIBA World Championships, where Team USA knocked off Turkey behind a terrific performance from Kevin Durant to claim gold for the first time since 1994. That doesn't make you any less of a sports fan if you didn't watch it...it just makes you a bad American and an awful person.
Ok - perhaps that's a tad harsh. But for those who haven't been paying attention, the USA Basketball program is on a roll, and with so many young stars wanting to be a part of it, the future looks bright. It is once again cool to represent your country, and unless you're one of those people born without a heart, you've got to be excited to see how the 2012 Olympic roster will look. The general assumption is that most of the lineup from 2008 will return to defend their gold medal, but the competition for the roster spots will be fierce, given the performance of the players this summer, many of whom are only beginning to enter their prime.
With that, here's a look at the players who will likely be under consideration for 2012, and a prediction on how that roster could look. I've only included players that have either played with the men's national team before, or have been invited to take part in the summer camps, so there's always a chance we'll see some new names under consideration by 2012, such as John Wall or Blake Griffin. Regardless, that team is going to be a force to be reckoned with.
In alphabetical order...
Carmelo Anthony: Who knows what NBA team 'Melo will represent by that point, but he's a virtual lock for a roster spot in 2012 if he wants it. Big enough to play in the post, yet skilled enough to run the floor as a wing, he's a great fit for the international game, and he was a key player in 2008. When 'Melo is the 3rd or 4th scoring option on the floor, you know you've got a good team.
Chauncey Billups: Billups is a terrific leader and provides many of the intangibles needed on a roster full of stars. However, his athleticism and speed are average at this point, and he'll be 35 by the time the Olympics roll around. Combine that with a deep pool of point guards, and it's not likely we'll see him in London.
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13 September 2010
After internet issues deleted my first try at this, here are some thoughts after a big football weekend...
Denard Robinson is really fast. Robinson accumulated over 500 yards running and throwing on Saturday afternoon. He absolutely torched Notre Dame's defense, which looks as slow as ever. If they gave out the Heisman Trophy after two weeks, Robinson would be the unanimous winner. If Robinson tied his shoes, he'd be an even better football player.- Michigan was very lucky to beat Notre Dame. If Dayne Crist doesn't miss the better part of the first half with an injury, that is a completely different football game. Regardless, Michigan is 2-0 with two cupcakes ahead before they start Big Ten play. Michigan started 4-0 last year, before finishing the season 1-7. Can RichRod capitalize on early success this time around? I certainly hope not. His ass still needs to go.
- Go see a football game at Notre Dame. The stadium, tradition and tailgating all make the trip worth it. One word of advice: Sit in your assigned seat. Nothing good happens if you try to sit somewhere else.
- Team USA showed the world we are the dominant basketball country in the world. Playing Turkey in Istanbul, the American team showed they had more talent and athleticism en route to an 81-64 win. This should be a notice to the rest of the world that if we send our best athletes to compete, we are going to beat you. The rest of the world can have their World Cup trophies as long as we keep kicking their asses in basketball.
- Kevin Durant will be an all-time great basketball player. The best three basketball players in the world right now? 1. Kobe, LeBron, 3. Durant. You cannot convince me otherwise.
- Virginia Tech's football team is an absolute joke. First, they get beat by a team that plays their home games on blue turf. Then, they get beat at home by James Madison. That's an embarrassing start for a team that was ranked #10 in the country before the season. Virginia Tech is a lot like Will Ferrell at this point. Both were very good about seven years ago and have steadily declined, but people continue to think they're deserving of attention because of what they used to be. Will Ferrell just isn't that funny anymore and Virginia Tech just isn't a good football team.
- Oregon's football team is no joke at all. Everyone is talking about how good Alabama and Ohio State are after they beat Penn State and Miami over the weekend, but what about Oregon? Their second half performance against Tennessee was very impressive. Take a look at Oregon's schedule, do you see a game on it that they won't be favored? Oregon may well be the team that gets beat by an SEC team in the BCS Championship Game this year.
- I can't figure out how Bruce Pearl has a job. He broke the rules. Then, he lied about breaking the rules. Keep in mind, this is the same guy who once turned in Illinois for recruiting violations. He absolutely should have been fired. UT Athletic Director, Mike Hamilton showed that he cares more about his basketball team being relevant than actually running a clean program.
- No other 2010 Elite Eight coach would have kept his job. But, no other 2010 Elite Eight school is coaching at a football school. Since this happened on a football weekend, I'd bet less than 50% of Tennessee residents even know what Pearl did.
- Mike Vick played well yesterday. After Kevin Kolb got knocked out of the Eagles game yesterday, Vick did all he could to try and help the Eagles come back against the Packers. While he didn't succeed, he showed flashes of the player he used to be. Unsurprisingly, there's a QB controversy in Philadelphia.
- I haven't heard anything about dog fighting all day. Remember last year, when Mike Vick's name couldn't be said without talking about his dog fighting conviction? Now that he's on the field and playing well, no one is talking about it. It just shows what a forgiving society we've become. Hell, people might even be cheering for LeBron in a year.
- MTV still shows the Video Music Awards. They used to have funny people host the VMAs, this year they had Chelsea Handler. Needless to say, I wasn't watching. Also, I haven't seen a music video on MTV since Virginia Tech was good at football.
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02 September 2010
By this point, you know the deal. I'm awful at gambling, but I give you my picks anyway. Bet them if you like. Bet against them if you like. Just don't bet your rent check on them. However, if you win a lot of money on one of my picks, I take gratuity. If you lose a lot of money on one of my picks, I will not pay your rent. All lines provided by BetUS.com.
LSU -6 vs. UNC; I cannot stress how much I like LSU in this football game. First of all, the SEC is dominant in out-of-conference games. Secondly, UNC might have as many as 16 players out for this game, nine of which were possible starters. It is beyond me how this game is still on the board, and that the line is still this low. (Update: Obviously I'm not the only one who realized the disaster UNC has become. As of posting, this line wasn't on the board. Keep an eye out for things to change.)- Purdue +11 @ Notre Dame; Notre Dame will win this football game, but not by more than 10 points. Notre Dame has spent all summer learning a new coach, a new system and how to deal with a coach who is so fat things orbit around him. Purdue has had some consistency in their program and puts the best QB on the field in Robert Marve. If you like points, you should watch this game. If you hate Notre Dame, you should not watch this game. I won't be watching.
- UNDER 49.5 UK @ Louisville; If these two offenses were good, coaches would have named their starting quarterbacks earlier than two weeks ago. Charlie Strong knows defense and will be able to keep Randall Cobb in check. Lousiville's offense is awful, so even Kentucky's meager defense will be able to keep them out of the end zone.
- Washington +2.5 @ BYU; Jake Locker would have been the #1 pick in the NFL draft had he been smart and gone pro last spring. Barring a regression, he'll be the best player in college football this year. As long as the Mormons don't do to his shoulder what they did to Sam Bradford's last year, Washington should roll into Polygamy-ville and get a win.
- San Jose State +37.5 @ Alabama; Obviously, Alabama is far superior at every position. But, Alabama has some issues. Mark Ingram is out of the game after having knee surgery. Marcell Dareus is out for two games for receiving improper benefits. These things lead to Nick Saban being very conservative this weekend. Plus, Penn State comes to Tuscaloosa next Saturday, so 'Bama won't want to show much of their playbook to Coach (Jay) Paterno.
- Virginia Tech +2.5 vs. Boise State; Virginia Tech regularly brings in Top 20 recruiting classes. Boise State does not. At some point, players win games and that's what I'm banking on Monday night. If you can get a good number for VT on the moneyline, take it. Thank me later.
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31 August 2010
The long national wait is over. College Football begins this weekend and will fill our weekends until January. Sometimes, I wonder how I spend my weekends when there's no football. Then, I remember Keeneland, UK Basketball and all my friends that have pools. Life without football isn't so bad, but life with it is pretty damn good. In honor of the return of football, I thought I'd put some predictions on the internet for the world (4 people) to see. Feel free to remind me of these at the end of the season.
The SEC will not be represented in the National Championship Game. Yes, I know the four people who read my last post already know I think this. But, I feel like the SEC is going to be a bit down this year. There are a couple teams (Florida & Alabama) that are going to be very good, but I don't see any SEC teams as elite. They will all have one or two losses during brutal SEC play, and won't play in the title game for the first time since the USC/Texas thriller in January of 2006.- Randall Cobb will be WAY overhyped by UK fans. It started last week, when Mel Kiper said that he thought Cobb was the best player in college football. I thought Twitter might break in the state of Kentucky afterwards. UK fans must have forgotten that Kiper had Jimmy Clausen going 4th overall in April's NFL Draft (He was only about 40 picks off). There's a small chance Kiper is losing his eye for talent. Also, for any of you mouthbreathers who think Cobb is going to win the Heisman... They don't give the Heisman to guys who play on teams that go 7-5. Seriously, find me the last guy to do that.
- Rich Rodriguez will finally be fired by Michigan. Somehow, it's only RichRod's third year at UM. It feels like decades since he started ruining one of the greatest football universities in America. I thought Lloyd Carr was a walking corpse in his last few years at Michigan, but I'd help pay Lloyd's salary to bring him back over Rodriguez. RichRod's biggest sin is that he's a loser. He's won 8 games in two seasons at Michigan. The Michigan fanbase expects at least 10 wins... a season. Not only is he a loser, but Rodriguez is also a cheater. I really don't care about cheating in college athletics, seeing as everybody does it. But, you need to do two things if you're going to cheat: 1) Don't get caught. 2) Win some games when you are cheating. RichRod was able to do neither, so he'll be canned at the end of the year, which can't come a moment too soon.
- Boise State will not go undefeated. In fact, they'll lose on Monday night against Virginia Tech. Thankfully, that will end all the talk of them playing in the title game. Seriously, do you know anyone that wants to watch Boise State play in the National Championship game? No one would be excited if Northern Iowa played Southern Illinois in the Final Four, so why would anyone want to see Boise State play TCU in the BCS Championship? Who are these people trying to force us to like this mediocre football team from Idaho? When they join a real conference and play legitimate football teams every week, let me know.
- Conference Winners: ACC: Miami, Big East: Pittsburgh, Big Ten: Ohio State, Big Twelve: Texas, Pac 10: Oregon, SEC: Florida.
Joe Paterno will not have any idea where he is, or what he is doing. Can't someone put him out of his damn misery? He has no idea what he's talking about at press conferences, is doing little-to-zero actual coaching and is stunting any chance Penn State has of getting better. Hell, Bobby Bowden still sounds coherent and was let go at Florida State. Look at that picture to the right. I think someone just asked him what year it is and he's completely perplexed. Seriously though, does that guy give you confidence if he's running your football team? I didn't think so. Someone needs to step up at Penn State and do the right thing, get that geriatric out of there.- Garrett Gilbert will win the Heisman. I've got Texas going undefeated and I've got Gilbert as the best player on that team. The Heisman is no longer given to the best player in college football, it's simply the best player on the best team. It seems as if my logic here is airtight.
- Texas will beat Ohio State in the National Championship. In a year where everyone wants to tell you that traditional powers are down, I'll give you two traditional powers in the title game. Mack Brown wins another title and paves the way for another half-decade of SEC dominance.
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27 August 2010
Hello, friends. The response to the pre-weekend thoughts from last week was so overwhelming, I feel as if I have no choice but to appease our (four) readers and do another this week. I could come up with some witty banter for this italicized part, but I feel like I only have so much witty banter to give, and that needs to be used for the non-italicized parts of this post. If you thought this was going to be written in non-bullet point form, you were sorely mistaken.
College football starts in less than week. Feel the excitement. I'm sure I'll rue this decision later this fall, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that an SEC team will not play for the National Championship this year. Yeah, I said it. Sure, it's been five years since an SEC team hasn't played for the title, but I see the conference as a step down from what it's been the last half-decade. I think SEC teams are going to beat up on each other and won't have the records to get into the NC game. I'll go ahead and predict Texas beating Ohio State for the title. Feel free to bring this up in early January when Alabama wins its second title in a row. But really, as long as Boise State, TCU, BYU or any other team that plays in a non-BCS conference isn't playing for the championship, we all win.- It's that time for non-nerds to become nerds. Yes, it's time for fantasy football. It's a time when guys who have social lives and have talked to women before become just as nerdy as those with comic book collections. Look, I'm not ashamed I play fantasy football. Fantasy football is fun, lets you make fun of your friends and usually wins me money. I love fun things, making fun of my friends and winning money.
- The WNBA Playoffs have begun. Brubaker emailed me yesterday to ask why we hadn't done a preview for the WNBA Playoffs. Here is your WNBA Playoffs preview: The WNBA Playoffs have begun. They will end sometime in the next month (I think).
- Miami Hurricane Basketball is going to be thriving soon. Some members of the Heat went to play pickup hoops with the Hurricanes yesterday. John Calipari is the best recruiter in college basketball, but even he can't say, "If you come play for us, you'll get to play pickup with LeBron, Wade, Bosh and friends during the summer." Frank Haith is sitting on a goldmine at Miami and couldn't coach his way out of a wet paper bag.
- Speaking of the greatest athlete in the world... Per usual, I was thinking about everyone hating LeBron. I was told this week that no one cares that he switched teams, but it was how he did it that makes people not like him. I guess that's fair, but it should be noted that the guy is 25 years old and "The Decision" lasted about 80 minutes. If I were judged solely on 80 minutes of my life when I was 25, I could be called any number of things, the least of which being arrogant.
- Stop making a big deal about moving the Michigan/Ohio State football game. This game is already the biggest rivalry in college football, it doesn't matter when it's played. Ten million people would still tune in and watch if they played it at 4AM on a Tuesday. Seriously, I will listen to anyone talk about why the game shouldn't be moved if they can do so without referencing the past. Thankfully, no one can do that, so I don't have to listen to anyone else's opinion. Things change, usually for the better. Get over it, mouthbreathers.
- The Little League World Series comes to an end this weekend. Georgia and Hawaii play this afternoon and the winner gets to play Texas in the American Championship on Saturday. Japan and Chinese Taipei square off tomorrow in the International Championship. I'll go ahead and pick Texas over Hawaii in the American Championship and Chinese Taipei over Japan in the International Championship. Chinese Taipei will be crowned World Champions on Sunday. That team is loaded.
- Take this weekend to get ready for football. Do what you need to do to get ready. The next five months full of weekends will be taken up by football, beer and football. Prepare yourselves.
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20 August 2010
Hello? Is this thing on? It's been a few weeks (month) since I've written anything on here. After defending LeBron so eloquently for so long, I felt like I needed to take a break from writing to concentrate on other things... like defending LeBron on Twitter. I desperately need a hobby. Alas, it's Friday morning at work and I've already finished a crossword puzzle and a Sudoku (5-star!), so I figured I'd give some pre-weekend thoughts. It's kind of like when George Michael was going to get pre-engaged on "Arrested Development" except that it is not like that at all. Bullet points used for the reader's enjoyment and comfort.
College Football starts in less than two weeks. There's going to be an extra hour of College GameDay, for those of us who needed more Erin Andrews in our lives. I'm not complaining. However, I will be complaining about Rich Rodriguez all season long, until that cheating loser gets his ass fired. Members of the Rodriguez family should probably avoid the site (like that will be difficult) for the next few months. The StadiumDrives party to celebrate the opening Saturday of CFB will be epic as always.- The Little League World Series starts today. Did I go to a bar last weekend and ask them to turn on a LLWS Region Final Game? Yes, you're damn right I did. If I'm going to have to listen to a playlist of Culture Club, Bush, Kenny Loggins and Eminem... I'm going to find something to try and enjoy. You should really try and catch LLWS fever, it doesn't give you herpes. Plus, you can hear that "new" Jack Johnson song 47 times a day. "You, and your heart..."
- I still love LeBron. I've yet to figure out anything he's done wrong. I also love the double standard everyone has with the whole situation as well. Chris Paul is under contract and publicly said he doesn't want to play for the Hornets anymore, but he got a pass. LeBron was a free agent and went to play for another team and gets skewered. People are morons.
- I'm not convinced Reds fans actually like baseball. The only time I hear anything from Reds fans is when they get "slighted." When Joey Votto was correctly left off the initial All-Star team roster, you would have thought someone had murdered every Reds fan's mother. The newest thing that has Reds nerds up in arms is that Colin Cowherd said the Reds were a fraud or something on his radio show. The Reds beat writer even devoted a column to this subject. Then, Grubby's favorite Herald-Leader columnist, John Clay, tweeted, "Heard a little of Cowherd firing back at Reds fans this morning. Could the guy be any more arrogant?" I love this. Why wouldn't Cowherd be arrogant when all of these people who supposedly don't like him and think he's arrogant can't stop talking about him. Also, when did arrogance become the biggest crime in America? Has it superseded terrorism?
- Shawn Kemp Jr. didn't qualify academically at Auburn. Shawn Kemp's son not qualifying would be the least surprising sports story of the week if LeGarrette Blount hadn't punched someone at Titans practice.
- NFL Predictions if you care: Division winners: Patriots, Bengals, Colts, Chargers, Cowboys, Vikings, Saints and 49ers; Wildcards: Titans, Jets, Packers, Falcons.
- I can't handle UK playing basketball in the summer. Dealing with the UK mouthbreathers during the fall/winter is tough as it is, but this is out of control. I actually heard people saying that they would take Brandon Knight over John Wall. How dumb can these people possibly be? Brandon Knight may be a great basketball player at UK this season, but John Wall was the best NBA prospect since LeBron James! Take off the blue-tinted glasses, morons.
- What the hell is wrong with people from Europe? This is how a recent game between Serbia and Greece ended. Sadly, after the game they didn't all go and buy razors so they could shave for the first time (Brubaker's joke).
- TV this summer has been surprisingly great. You need to be watching Jersey Shore because it may be the greatest social experiment of all time. You need to be watching Bachelor Pad for the good looking women and because it is one of the most ridiculous shows to ever grace the airwaves. You need to be watching Entourage because Drama is about to be turned into a cartoon. You also need to watch the Little League World Series.
- It's the weekend, get off the computer. Summer is coming to an end, so go enjoy yourself. Reading sports blogs is for nerds anyway.
