Championship Saturday 10-Pack

Following the footsteps of my co-hort, Erik, I'll throw 10 games at you myself. I've finally climbed up to .500 (at last glance) and now I'm going to finish it off with a bang.

Navy -14 vs. Army - 5 STAR LOCK OF THE WEEK!! How is Army going to stop this attack? The QB with the crazy name will probably run for 200 and throw for 100. Navy by 4 tuddies.

USC -19.5 vs. UCLA - Look at this. A real conference without a conf. championship game that is STILL playing games. Ohio State sits on their ass for three weeks, climbs in the polls, and yet if I remember correctly, USC was playing every bit as early as Ohio State was this season. Sick system they got in college football. Oh and USC is finally peaking... UCLA is going to get crushed.

West Virginia/Pittsburgh Over 58.5 - First of all, I think WVU scores 59 points by themselves. Second of all, WVU is all about doing whatever they can to impress voters and make sure they are in that national championship game. I expect them to win by something like 73-28.

Hawaii -14 vs. Wash. U - Look. Washington is done. They had their 10 seconds of fame when they almost knocked off USC. Now, they're going to Hawaii to party, drink some mai tais, and get crushed by a team that will do whatever they can to get into a BCS. Yes, clearly, I like the big faves this weekend.

Miami of Ohio +3 vs. Central Michigan - Mac Championship. I don't know.

Tulsa +7.5 vs. Central Florida - Conf. USA Championship. I don't know. Not a lock of the week!

BC +4.5 vs. Va Tech - ACC Championship. On the one hand, you have the Va. Tech revenge factor. On the other hand, you have Sean Glennon at QB.

LSU -7 vs. Tennessee - SEC Championship. Am I the only one who hates Eric Ainge? Also, note to the NCAA - can we not keep stats in overtime in college football? It screws everything up. Now, it shows that Ainge threw 7 TDs last week, but he had 4 OTs in which to do it. That doesn't make any sense at all. Those OTs are shootouts because the defenses are so tired.

Oklahoma -3 vs. Mizzou Big 12 Championship. I expect a ton of points, and I expect that OU will be more physical and eventually wear down Mizzou. Plus, this will just add to my frustration that Ohio State will play for a national championship, and they haven't played a game since Clinton was in office.

Stanford +13.5 vs. Cal - The band is on the field!! The band is on the field!! (Kabloooooooey as he trucks the trombone player!!!)

College Football Week 14 - Erik's Picks

Giving 10 games this week -- because I said so. I might win all 10, too!

Boston College +4.5 over Virginia Tech. GO EAGLES for ACC CHAMPS!

Navy -14 over Army. Middies too strong.

Tennessee +7.5 over LSU. LSU is soooo overrated.

Oregon State PICK 'EM over Oregon. Post-Dixon Ducks are miz.

USC -20 over UCLA. USC is still nasty.

BYU -15.5 over San Diego State. Total guess.

Stanford +13.5 over Cal. I like the dog in the rivaly.

Mizzou +3 over Oklahoma. Tigers won't choke.

Hawaii -14 over Washington. Huskies can't keep up in a shootout.

Arizona State -7 over Arizona. Cake.

GO EAGLES!

Just wishign good luck to the BC Eagles against the Hokies this Saturday. Neutral crowd & better weather - sounds good to me. Get me to the Orange Bowl!

11-1

For .500!!

Here we go! 5 picks, lets get to .500. And for not doing lock of the week twice in a row, I'll get you three locks for this week.

UCONN +18 @ WVU - I've seen WVU struggle vs. Louisville in a big thursday night main event. With a BCS berth on the line, I have to think UCONN stays within 18

Mizzou +1.5 @ Kansas - I think Mizzou is actually the superior team and I see Mizzou pulling off the upset in Kansas.

Auburn -4.5 vs. Alabama - Alabama sucks. Here's your lock of the week #1

Florida State +14 @ Florida - Florida defense actually sucks and I can see FSU making this a bit interesting, especially since Florida isn't playing for a BCS game (to my knowledge). Lock of the week #2

Boston College -13 vs. The U - Miami is gross. They've mailed it in. BC needs this in case they lose next week. Lock of the week #3

College Football Week 13 - Erik's Picks

The Antiques Road Show, folks!

Miami +14 over @Boston College
Virginia Tech -3.5 over @Virginia
Georgia -3.5 over @Georgia Tech
Tennessee +3 over @Kentucky
Oregon -1.5 over @UCLA

Catching up on Week 11 & 12 Results

Scott got lucky in that Cincy back door cover. Bunk I say (two game swing since we both took it, going opposite ways). Also he didn't do L.O.W. the past two weeks.

Erik Week 11: L W W W W
Scott Week 11: L L W W W

Erik Week 12: W W L W L
Scott Week 12: W W L W W


Erik Cumulative Record: 27-32-1
Scott Cumulative Record: 29-30-1, L.O.W. 5-4

ACC / SEC Challenge

Big weekend for the reputation of the ACC. Four good matchups are happening between ACC & SEC schools. Its a foregone conclusion across the nation that the SEC is the best league and the ACC is one of the weaker BCS conferences. But those opinions can dynamically change with a few positive results in non-conference play.

FSU at Florida
Georgia at Georgia Tech
Clemson at South Carolina
Wake Forest at Vanderbilt

The ACC is SUPPOSED to go 2-2 in these games. I'm challenging these teams to go 3-1. Rival games should bring out the best in you, so GT and FSU have that chance to step up their level of play. 3 out of 4. Can it be done?

You boys like Mex-eee-ko?

Super Troopers definitely gets funnier every time you see it. It started as a C+ and now its an A-.

College Football Week 12 - Erik's Picks

Florida State -7.5 over Maryland
UConn -20 over Syracuse
NC State +6 over Wake Forest
Boston College +9 over Clemson
West Virginia -6 over Cincinatti

Last Second Week 12 Picks!!

The Ohio State -3.5 @ Michigan
Cincinatti +6 vs. West Va.
Duke +7 @ Notre Dame
BC +9 @ Clemson
Wake -6 vs. NC State

Barry

One thing about this Barry situation, I think its pretty gay that its a Federal thing. MLB allowed it to happen, then there is a witchhunt for things that happened back in the past and the US Govt is involved.

I dislike him a human being, so I'm glad he's caught and likely won't ever play again, but I think its stupid that he was put in the situation of having to testify in a grand jury in the first place. You can't lie in that situation, but he's just as doomed if he tells the truth.

(So if your freshman dorm allowed you to drink beers, so you did it every weekend because that's the thing to do and who cares since no one is getting caught. Then 10 years later they came back and make you testify to underage drinking and you'd lose your job and be in trouble with the cops if you did it.)

But its MLB's fault. Why doesn't every employee of Major League Baseball have to go to jail for facilitating the atmosphere of 1988-2002?

Anyway, Uncle Sam - fix healthcare, the economy, the amount of money being spent in Iraq, and the volume of greenhouse gasses instead of wasting time on professional baseball.

So Long Barry....

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Finally.

And I immediately heard Stephen A. Smith angrily complaining that this is a black/white issue. No, Stephen, it's a "this guy is an arrogant lying and cheating prick who lied in court to a federal judge" issue. Sorry, San Fran. You been supporting a fraud all these years.

A few thoughts

- How has Phil Martelli never progressed into a nice Big East or Big Ten coaching gig. Seems like a great guy, a knowledgeable teacher & coach, and the kind of coach your fan base would be proud to support. St Joe's is lucky to have him.
- Jon Scheyer era - no thanks, just graduate or something.
- The most falsified stat line in the history of the NCAA is Sean Williams with 7 blocks against the Maryland Terrapins in December 2006. He was closer to 27 blocks than 7. My best guess is 19 blocks.
- Is Tom Brady still "Probable: Shoulder" even coming out of a bye week. Maybe I'll look this week.
- The Eagles need Jo-Lonn Dunbar and we need him now.
- Losing or winning vs Maryland actually didn't make a difference in getting to the Orange Bowl. If BC beat Maryland and Miami (11/24) and lost to Clemson, they'd be sitting home. If they beat Clemson, but lose to Miami in addition to losing to Maryland, they're in the ACC Championship Game. The kicker is that if they technically finish 2nd or 3rd in the league, they'll be chosen 5th or 6th in the pecking order. That loss could be the difference between Peach Bowl and Boise.
- Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine, Eddie House, James Posey, etc are all playing pretty good basketball. Lets hope the team doesn't become too star-centric as the season goes on. Success will come from utilizing role players.
- Is Miami (OH) and Akron playing for the 2nd straight night right now? Is this Deja Vu? I thought I saw them playing last night.
- Matt Ryan fell off the Heisman radar pretty quickly. Thank god BC lauched that lame Mattyice.com site.

NBA - Did You Know?

Here are some interesting tidbits from the first two weeks of the season:

- Kevin Martin of the Kings is 4th in scoring at 26.8 ppg.
- Chris Kaman of the Clippers leads in rebounding at 16.5
- Ray Allen of the Celtics is 2nd in FG% at 63.16%. Sick, considering he is a 2-guard.
- Former BC Eagle, Craig Smith, is 4th in the same category at 61.91%
- Two Celtics are in the top 5 in steals per game, Garnett (3.33) and Rajon Rondo (3.33)
- The Miami Heat are collectively shooting 62.25% from the line. That's disgusting. On the flip side, Dallas shoots it like they get paid millions of dollars to do a job, at 88.89%.
- Nobody shoots it better from WAY DOWNTOWN than Toronto, who is hitting 47% of their threes. No one is worse than the Wiz, who are hitting 25% of their threes.
- League leader in fouls per game: Kirk Hinrich. Bet you didn't know that.
- Rookie scoring leaders: Durant (21.7), Yi (11.8), Jeff Green (10.4), Horford (8.8), some guy named Jarmario Moon on the Raptors (7.3). There is a good reason the Sonics are 0-5. I'm not sure it's a great thing for your team's success to have two guys in the top 5 rookie scorers.

College Football Week 11 - Erik's Picks

@Duke +14 over Georgia Tech - GT can stink something awful sometimes

Kentucky -3.4 over @Vanderbilt - Do it for Colonel Sanders

Air Force -3 over @Notre Dame - What reason do we have to think ND can do anything well?

Florida -6.5 over @South Carolina - Smelly Mitchell? NO, the Gators.

Kansas -6 over @Oklahoma State - What reason do we have to doubt the Jayhawks?

This Week's Picks!

I think we're on week 11, but I've lost count. 22-27-1, I'm told. Okay, let's try to get to the break even point:

Wake Forest +9 at Clemson
Cuse +16.5 vs. South Florida
UCLA +7 vs. Arizona
Wisconsin +2.5 vs. Michigan
Maryland +6.5 vs. BC

It's a dog eat dog world out there!

KILL ME!

Gimme Gimme
Gimme
Gimme Gimme mooooore
Gimme Gimme
Gimme
Gimme Gimme

Week 10 Results: Scott 75%, Erik 25%

Both picked up our first pushes of the year, and in different games!

UConn 38 Rutgers 19 COVER
Maryland 13 North Carolina 16 Push
Nebraska 39 Kansas 76 Did Not Cover
Arkansas 48 South Carolina 36 COVER
Florida 49 Vandy 22 COVER
Scott for season: 22-27-1, L.O.W. 5-4

Wake Forest 16 Virginia 17 Did Not Cover
Nebraska 39 Kansas 76 Did Not Cover
Troy 34 Georgia 44 COVER
Alabama 34 LSU 41 Push
Ball State 20 Indiana 38 Did Not Cover
Erik for season: 20-29-1

This Play

This play... By that guy.... ummmm....

Things I'd do differently if it were me in charge...

1. Andre Callendar says hello, I'm pretty good, let me run the ball a couple of times. Memo to Steve Logan - even FSU is going to pick it off a few times if you throw on every single down. I'm sure Erik has some thoughts on this.

2. I would not have been the guy who signed Michael Finley to a contract that is paying him $20 million this year. Today's Globe has the list of the highest paid players. And Finley is #2, right after Garnett. I can't get over that.

Agent "Zero Chance He Can Tell The Future"

Gilbert Arenas' guarantee:
"Right now I’m telling the Boston fans: You guys are going to lose. It’s not going to be a victory for Boston. You might as well just cheer for me, because Boston isn’t winning in Boston for the season opener. I’m sorry.”

Boston Celtics 103, Washington Wizards 83

Arenas:
40:14 Minutes
5-20 FG
0-5 3Pt FG
3 Assists
4 Turnovers

My Daughter vs. Scaia

Both like to drink
Both pass out after drinking
Both make hilarious comments at all times (granted one is incoherent, and in 2 week old language)
Both burp and then make a face like "oh yea, that felt good"
Both will fall asleep anywhere, be it a couch, a bed, the floor, a chair, the counter, or the car.

Best name in coaching?

For the last two weeks I've been thinking that the best name in coaching is clearly Bud Foster, the D-Coordinator for Virginia Tech. I mean, this guy named after two beers! A+

Picks and Stuff!

Alright, so the picks aren't going so great. I'm saving up my wins for bowl season, anyway. Erik doesn't know this yet, but each bowl game counts double, and the BCS games count triple.

A lot has happened in the 2 and a half weeks since we had our daughter. Off the top of my head:

- She was born minutes after Dice K gave up a 2 run gomer to Lofton. I mean, the timing couldn't have been more perfect... I was fed up with the game anyway.
- 2 weeks later they won their second World Series of my lifetime, in convincing form. Ironically, it was the first of my daughters lifetime. Weird to think of it that way.
- The Pats rolled over both the Dolphins and the Redskins. Both games were interesting to the media, only because they've now decided that the Pats are winning games by too many points, now. I don't know, you figure it out. Apparently, millionaire football players supposedly have hurt feelings because they suck at their job.
Are the Pats running up the score? Hell yea, they are running up the score. And I love it. More, more, more, I say.
Note to the national media frauds: You haven't seen running it up yet. Tune in on December 14th when Belichick is calling for onsides kicks with a 60 point lead. You guys will love that.
- BC won a miraculous road game last Thursday. This weekend is the prototypical BC letdown game vs. a team they should beat. I sense something different, though. In years past, you'd chalk this up as a loss against an inferior opponent because so much was at stake. This year? They have better coaching, and way too much senior leadership.
- Joe Torre didn't waste any time. It will take about 3 months before we can definitively say one way or the other whether Joe Torre actually makes a difference to wins and losses. Was it the great mastermind, Joe Torre, all these years, or was it the 200 million dollar sqaud all these years? I've always found Torre to be a good guy, despite his Yankee ties, but I've also always thought he is a horribly overrated manager when it comes to managing a bullpen. Torre loves wearing guys out by July - that's partly due to bad bullpen depth, and partly due to Torre not seeing the bigger picture that the season is 6 months long and you'll need these arms fresh in September (see: Francona, Tito).
- Oh yea, and of course, the debut of KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce tonight. Good god. Even Steven A. Smith is on board, proclaiming the Celts will win the East. I haven't heard one of those "YOU CAN'T TRADE BIG AL JEFFERSON NO MATTER WHAT" in months. Where did all those people go? Does anyone remember that we had Al Jefferson?
Week 10 picks:
UConn -2 vs. Rutgers - UConn continues to win big games, and this will be their second straight game in front of their home crowd with the Big East on the line. I find 2 points to be pretty favorable against a team that lost at home to Maryland

Maryland +3 at UNC - Wow, that's insulting. Fridge should be on the chopping block just for being a 3 point dog to the Tar Heels. Yikes.

Nebraska +20.5 at Kansas - I'm not buying a 3 TD win here.

Arkansas -5.5 vs. South Carolina - "They" tell me to take home unranked favorites vs. ranked teams. "They" have been right on this theory but then they have been wrong. Unfortunately, "they" leave me to fend for myself on every other game.

Florida -15 vs. Vanderbilt - I don't know. I used to think Florida was really good.

College Football Week 10 - Erik's Picks

What does it matter what I pick anymore? Flip a coin. OK, I'll stick to my guns and bet games I think will happen, even though I really should go the opposite way of everything I think. Here we go:


Wake Forest -1 over @Virginia - Riley Skinner vs Howie Long's kid

Nebraska +18.5 over @Kansas - If this were the 1990s, it'd be Nebraska -39

Troy +16.5 over @ Georgia - Troy can score and they played some BCS teams toe to toe. Georgia letdown after UF game.

Alabama +7 over @LSU - Nick Saban voodoo dolls in the Bayou won't be enough

Ball State +6.5 over @Indiana - Big crowd travelling from Muncie to Bloomington. Letterman's team holds strong.


Author's note: I did everyone a favor and didn't jinx y'all with UMD over UNC pick. Thank me Sunday.