Down to the Wire (For Some)

So we know this... The AFC road goes through Boston; the Jets, Chiefs, Steelers and Ravens are in; the Eagles are the #3 in the NFC; the NFC #4 will have less than 9 wins; and the Panthers are on the clock.
A nice little twist this week, every game is on Sunday, and they are all divisional games. That's pretty good way to make sure some games really matter in Week 17.

Falcons over Panthers
Steelers over Browns
Lions over Vikings
Chiefs over Raiders
Patriots over Dolphins
Ravens over Bengals
Saints over Buccaneers
Jets over Bills
Packers over Bears
Colts over Titans
Giants over Redskins
Jaguars over Texans
Cowboys over Eagles
49ers over Cardinals
Broncos over Chargers
Seahawks over Rams

Last Week: 10-6
Season: 145-95

Week 16: aka, the Push

Time for teams to get their shit together and start playing like they deserve to be in the playoffs. Let's run through the picks...

Let’s start with the games that don’t matter:

Steelers over Panthers… they’re already in, they’re at home, and their opponent is playing for the rights to Andrew Luck. I expect a boring, methodical bitch-slapping.

Cowboys over Cardinals… ah, an old NFC East rivalry. I bet the Cards are glad to be out of that division and in one where all you need is 8 wins to make the playoffs. Can someone please rescue Larry Fitzgerald? He’s dying out there!

Lions over Dolphins… earlier in the season this would have been harder to pick. Lions are bad on the road, Dolphins are bad at home, and the whole Chad Pennington vs. Drew Stanton debate. Can someone please rescue Calvin Johnson? He’s dying out there!

Patriots over Bills… what’s the over/under on points here? 75? 95??? Can I take the over no matter what?

Texans over Broncos… I was going to lean on the Broncos’ passing tearing through the Texans’ secondary, but Tebow is too much of wild card. It appears the Broncos have quit, while the Texans legitimately look to be fighting to keep their mediocre coach.

Moving on to the games that matter for one team:

Jaguars over Redskins… rule # 115b of picking NFL games: NEVER back a QB nicknamed “Sexy Rexy.”

Chiefs over Titans… rule #7 of picking NFL games: ALWAYS pick the home team with a desperate fan-base that can smell the playoffs and has already swung 2 or 3 games this year.

Ravens over Browns… if the Ravens had clinched, or were out of contention, I’d lean towards the sneaky Browns. But they’ve had their big upset… at least they can look forward to the Cavaliers season. Oh, wait… my bad.

Chargers over Bengals… what a lousy break for the Chiefs. They’re one game ahead and the Chargers are playing teams that are a combined 6-22. At least they’re on the road for both.

Eagles over Vikings… has Mike Vick repaid his debt and realigned his karma? I’m not sure what it would take for most people to forgive and forget. Personally, I’m hoping he gets his throwing hand bitten off by a Chihuahua.

And finally, the games that matter for both teams:

Rams over 49ers… despite looking lost last week for half the game, the Rams are probably the best all-around team in the NFC West… which is like saying “look out for Florida International, they are the most balanced team in the Sun Belt.”

Bears over Jets… the Bears are playing for a first-round bye, the Jets are too inconsistent offensively… take the home team.

Colts over Raiders… rule #707d for picking football games: if Peyton Manning has a chance to make the playoffs, he will. Also, tough break for the Raiders… they could go 6-0 in the AFC West and not win it.

Packers over Giants… they almost beat the Patriots without Aaron Rodgers, and they are the only offense that doesn’t become one-dimensional in the freezing cold.

Buccaneers over Seahawks… Seattle’s hopes are a long shot, but the game still does matter. I see this game as laying the ground work for a Tampa resurgence, but I don’t think it will involve Josh Freeman.

Falcons over Saints… so many picking rules over lapping: Matt Ryan is like 20-1 at home; never count out the defending champs; pick the better running game; pick the better coach; pick the team that lost the previous match-up; never pick against a team starting two guys from your alma mater… let’s just say I wouldn’t bet ANY money on either team, not matter what the spread may be.

Last Week: 9-7
Season: 135-89

Bowl Bonaza

Before we get to the bowl picks, here are this week's NFL Picks:

Chargers over 49ers
Browns over Bengals
Cowboys over Redskins
Texans over Titans
Colts over Jaguars
Rams over Chiefs
Dolphins over Bills
Buccaneers over Lions
Cardinals over Panthers
Ravens over Saints
Eagles over Giants
Falcons over Seahawks
Steelers over Jets
Raiders over Broncos
Patriots over Packers
Bears over Vikings

Last Week: 11-5
Season: 126-82

On to Bowl Season... picking with me once again is my wonderful wife Katie (her picks will be in purple):
New Mexico: BYU over UTEP
Humanitarian: Fresno State over Northern Illinois
New Orleans: Ohio over Troy
St. Petersburg: Southern Miss over Louisville
Las Vegas: Boise State over Utah
Poinsettia: San Diego State over Navy
Hawai'i: Hawai'i over Tulsa
Little Caesars: Toledo over FIU
Independence: Georgia Tech over Air Force
Champs Sports: NC State over West Virginia
Insight: Iowa over Missouri
Military: Maryland over East Carolina
Texas: Illinois over Baylor
Alamo: Oklahoma State over Arizona
Armed Forces: SMU over Army
Pinstripe: Syracuse over Kansas State
Music City: North Carolina over Tennessee
Holiday: Nebraska over Washington
Meineke Car Care: South Florida over Clemson
Sun: Notre Dame over Miami-FL
Liberty: Central Florida over Georgia
Chick-fil-A: Florida State over South Carolina
TicketCity: Texas Tech over Northwestern
Outback: Penn State over Florida
Capital One: Alabama over Michigan State
Gator: Mississippi State over Michigan
Rose: TCU over Wisconsin
Fiesta: Oklahoma over Connecticut
Orange: Stanford over Virginia Tech
Sugar: Ohio State over Arkansas
GoDaddy.com: Miami-OH over Middle Tennessee State
Cotton: LSU over Texas A&M
BBVA Compass: Kentucky over Pittsburgh
Kraft Fight Hunger: Nevada over Boston College
BCS Championship: Auburn over Oregon

Days of Reckoning

So the BCS is set and TCU is getting screwed. A second straight undefeated season and they won't have a chance to be declared National Champions. Well, let's look at how I would have done it...

Final Rankings:
1: Auburn (13-0)
2: Oregon (12-0)
3: Texas Christian (12-0)
4: Nevada (12-1)
5: Stanford (11-1)
6: Ohio State (11-1)
7: Wisconsin (11-1)
8: Michigan State (11-1)
9: Boise State (11-1)
10: Oklahoma (11-2)
11: Virginia Tech (11-2)
12: Arkansas (10-2)
13: Louisiana State (10-2)
14: Missouri (10-2)
15: Oklahoma State (10-2)
16: Utah (10-2)
17: Nebraska (10-3)
18: Hawaii (10-3)
19: Central Florida (10-3)
20: Northern Illinois (10-3)
21: Alabama (9-3)
22: Texas A&M (9-3)
23: West Virginia (9-3)
24: Tulsa (9-3)

Also receiving "votes:" South Carolina (9-4), Florida State (9-4), Miami OH (9-4), Navy (8-3), Mississippi State (8-4), North Carolina State (8-4), Maryland (8-4), Connecticut (8-4), San Diego State (8-4), Air Force (8-4), Fresno State (8-4), Notre Dame (7-5), Arizona (7-5), Iowa (7-5), Pittsburgh (7-5), South Florida (7-5).

So here is how a 16-team tournament with the conference champs and the five best at-large teams:
#1 Auburn (SEC) vs. #16 Florida International (Sun Belt)
#2 Oregon (Pac-10) vs. #15 Connecticut (Big East)
#3 Texas Christian (MWC) vs. #14 Miami OH (MAC)
#4 Nevada (WAC) vs. #13 Central Florida (C-USA)
#5 Stanford (At-large) vs. #12 Arkansas (At-large)
#6 Ohio State (Big Ten) vs. #11 Virginia Tech (ACC)
#7 Wisconsin (At-large) vs. #10 Oklahoma (Big 12)
#8 Michigan State (At-large) vs. #9 Boise State (At-large)

Next Week... Bowl Picks

NFL Week 14:
Colts over Titans
Browns over Bills
Packers over Lions
Giants over Vikings
Steelers over Bengals
Buccaneers over Redskins
Falcons over Panthers
Jaguars over Raiders
Seahawks over 49ers
Saints over Rams
Patriots over Bears
Jets over Dolphins
Broncos over Cardinals
Chargers over Chiefs
Eagles over Cowboys
Ravens over Texans

Last Week: 13-3
Season: 115-77

Well, There Goes Boise

We're one more loss away from avoiding a BCS controversy... those looking to avoid my bitching better root for Oregon State or South Carolina this weekend. Here are my rankings:

1: Auburn (12-0)
2: Texas Christian (12-0)
3: Oregon (11-0)
4: Stanford (11-1)
5: Ohio State (11-1)
6: Wisconsin (11-1)
7: Michigan State (11-1)
8: Nevada (11-1)
9: Boise State (10-1)
10: Oklahoma (10-2)
11: Arkansas (10-2)
12: Louisiana State (10-2)
13: Missouri (10-2)
14: Nebraska (10-2)
15: Oklahoma State (10-2)
16: Virginia Tech (10-2)
17: Utah (10-2)
18: Northern Illinois (10-2)
19: Alabama (9-3)
20: South Carolina (9-3)
21: Texas A&M (9-3)
22: Florida State (9-3)
23: Hawaii (9-3)
24: Tulsa (9-3)
24: Central Florida (9-3)

Also receiving "votes:" West Virginia (8-3), Navy (8-3), Mississippi State (8-4), Maryland (8-4), North Carolina State (8-4), Air Force (8-4), San Diego State (8-4), Miami-OH (8-4), Ohio (8-4).

Honorable Mention: Toledo (8-4), Temple (8-4), Southern Miss (8-4)

Picks:
#20 South Carolina over #1 Auburn
Washington over Washington State
Southern Cal over UCLA
Connecticut over South Florida
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
#24 Central Florida over Southern Methodist
West Virginia over Rutgers
#10 Oklahoma over #14 Nebraska
#16 Virginia Tech over #22 Florida State
#3 Oregon over Oregon State

Last Week: 8-2 (38 pts)
Season: 77-53 (471 pts)

NFL Picks:
Eagles over Texas
Saints over Bengals
Bears over Lions
Packers over 49ers
Jaguars over Titans
Chiefs over Broncos
Browns over Dolphins
Vikings over Bills
Giants over Redskins
Chargers over Raiders
Falcons over Buccaneers
Seahawks over Panthers
Rams over Cardinals
Colts over Cowboys
Ravens over Steelers
Patriots over Jets

Last Week: 11-5
Season: 102-74

Thanks for Football

It's a veritable smorgusborg of football this weekend, some very intriguing match-ups and the landscape of the postseason for both the pros and college ranks should take a more defined shape. Let's start with this week's rankings:

1: Auburn (11-0)
2: Texas Christian (11-0)
3: Oregon (10-0)
4: Boise State (10-0)
5: Louisiana State (10-1)
6: Stanford (10-1)
7: Oklahoma State (10-1)
8: Wisconsin (10-1)
9: Ohio State (10-1)
10: Michigan State (10-1)
11: Nevada (10-1)
12: Alabama (9-2)
12: Oklahoma (9-2)
14: Arkansas (9-2)
15: Missouri (9-2)
16: Nebraska (9-2)
17: Virginia Tech (9-2)
18: Utah (9-2)
19: Northern Illinois (9-2)

Also receiving "votes:" South Carolina (8-3), Texas A&M (8-3), Florida State (8-3), North Carolina State (8-3), Hawaii (8-3), Navy (8-3), Southern Miss (8-3), Central Florida (8-3), Tulsa (8-3), Ohio (8-3), Arizona (7-3), West Virginia (7-3), Air Force (8-4), Miami-OH (8-4), Temple (8-4), Mississippi State (7-4), Iowa (7-4), Florida (7-4), Southern Cal (7-4), Miami-FL (7-4), Penn State (7-4), Michigan (7-4), Maryland (7-4), Northwestern (7-4), San Diego State (7-4), Syracuse (7-4), Pittsburgh (6-4), Notre Dame (6-5), Clemson (6-5), Oregon State (5-5).

College Pick 'Em games:
Maryland over North Carolina State... if there's one thing for certain in the ACC, it's that no team is a clear champion. The conference and the country want a FSU vs. Va Tech championship... they'll get it.
#12 Oklahoma over #7 Oklahoma State... if Bob Stoops wants to keep the orange-headed-step-child of the Big 12 South down, he'll find a way to blowout the Cowboys.
#14 Arkansas over #5 Louisiana State... I'm hoping home-field advantage, the Razorback offense, and BCS justice will prevail... LSU needs to lose so TCU and Boise can go (if they stay undefeated).
Georgia over Georgia Tech... usually a nasty game, and the Dawgs are looking for a bowl bid.
#10 Michigan State over Penn State... nothing like finishing in the top-10 of the BCS and not getting an invitation (damn Big lEast).
Mississippi State over Mississippi... the Egg Bowl has some relevance this year, the Bulldogs can earn some respect and keep their rivals in the cellar.
Florida State over Florida... something is wrong with the Gators, don't expect it to get fixed until mid-season next year.
Southern Cal over Notre Dame... not too much luster left in this match-up, but it should be a decent game for the die-hards.
California over Washington... why am I forced to pick this game?
South Carolina over Clemson... Gamecocks win a close one with the date with Auburn on their mind.

Last Week: 6-4 (42 pts)
Season: 69-51 (433 pts)

Bonus Picks:
#1 Auburn over #12 Alabama... if the Cam Newton thing was going to be a distraction, don't you think it would have been by now?
#2 Texas Christian over New Mexico... no contest, but the Frogs are too classy to run up the score, and I think the voters will respect that.
#4 Boise State over #11 Nevada... the difference is in the defense: what are the odds of Nevada's defense holding Boise's offense longer than Boise's defense holding Nevada's offense. If the Wolfpack play a perfect game defensively, they'll win.
#3 Oregon over Arizona... they say Cal provided a blueprint on how to defend the Ducks... you think Oregon has left their offense alone after a 15-point showing in the last game? Especially win two weeks to prepare?
Texas over Texas A&M... if Mack Brown is any kind of coach, he'll get his team to a bowl game.
#12 Nebraska over Colorado... I'm hoping it goes the other way, but Mizzou just isn't that lucky.
#15 Missouri over Kansas... expect the score to be lower than expected.
Pittsburgh over West Virginia... will someone in the Big lEast please win 8 games so it's not too much of a sham that they get a BCS bid?
Tulsa over Southern Miss... big battle in C-USA.


Pro Picks:
Patriots over Lions
Cowboys over Saints... new coach, new season.
Jets over Bengals
Falcons over Packers... Matt Ryan at home (something like 15-1).
Steelers over Bills... don't think the Steelers defense gives up a comeback like the Bills had last week.
Browns over Panthers
Giants over Jaguars... going with the home team and superior defense
Redskins over Vikings... McNabb or Favre, neither one should still be playing football
Texans over Titans... upset special
Chiefs over Seahawks
Raiders over Dolphins... which 5-5 team is more mediocre?
Eagles over Bears... game of the week, and I like the Eagles' offense
Ravens over Buccaneers... Josh Freeman, I'd like you to meet the Ravens defense.
Broncos over Rams... Rams on the road, ouch
Chargers over Colts... here comes the surge
49ers over Cardinals... oh how Arizona wishes Kurt Warner had the competitive spirit of Brett Favre.

Last Week: 14-2
Season: 91-69

No More Byes (Except in College)

Is it still a big football weekend if the top 3 teams aren't playing??
So I turned off the Boise State game last night with 2 minutes to go in the first half and it was 17-0... I wake up this morning and the final was 51-0. This team has lost 1 game in the last three years and has 0 national championships. The problem with the BCS can be seen right there.

College Games:
North Carolina over North Carolina State... it's basketball season, go with the Heels.
Mississippi State over #15 Arkansas... this one is tough one, Miss State has a lot to play for and they're at home, emotions will run high.
Northwestern over Illinois... the east endzone in Wrigley will be a factor, mark it down.
#14 Oklahoma over Baylor... the fall of the Bears may be complete today, but the Sooners have lost their last two road games.
#6 Stanford over California... it's been 4 in a row for the Bears, but this a VERY good Stanford team. Mark it down: Stanford will crush whichever Big 10 team gets to the Rose Bowl.
#7 Ohio State over Iowa... if you're going to ruin your Rose Bowl chances by losing to Northwestern, you don't deserve to ruin the Rose Bowl chances of the best team in your conference.
#10 Nebraska over Texas A&M... don't slip up Huskers. We'll be ready. (Plus A&M can still win the South, they'll play this one tough.)
#8 Wisconsin over Michigan... you'll notice that if my rankings broke the Big 10 tie, I'd have Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.
Florida State over Maryland... time for the other shoe to drop for the rest of the ACC. The 'Noles are runnin' the ACC again.
#17 Virginia Tech over Miami (FL)... then again, the Hokies are hoping to get back to the Orange Bowl and a ACC Champ showdown with Florida State looms.

Last Week: 6-4 (33 pts.)
Season: 63-47 (391 pts.)

NFL Picks:
Bears over Dolphins
Bengals over Bills
Cowboys over Lions
Ravens over Panthers
Jaguars over Browns
Steelers over Raiders
Redskins over Titans
Chiefs over Cardinals
Packers over Vikings
Jets over Texans
Falcons over Rams
Buccaneers over 49ers
Saints over Seahawks
Patriots over Colts
Giants over Eagles
Chargers over Broncos

Last Week: 5-9
This Week: 1-0
Season: 78-67

How's This for Getting the Rankings Out Early

Yep, it's Tuesday. I got to these quickly:

1: Auburn (11-0)
2: Texas Christian (11-0)
3: Oregon (10-0)
4: Boise State (9-0)
5: Louisiana State (9-1)
6: Stanford (9-1)
7: Ohio State (9-1)
8: Wisconsin (9-1)
9: Oklahoma State
10: Nebraska (9-1)
11: Michigan State (9-1)
12: Nevada (9-1)
13: Alabama (8-2)
14: Oklahoma (8-2)
15: Arkansas (8-2)
16: Missouri (8-2)
17: Virginia Tech (8-2)
18: Utah (8-2)
19: Temple (8-2)
20: Northern Illinois (8-2)

Also receiving "votes:" South Carolina (7-3), Texas A&M (7-3), Arizona (7-3), Mississippi State (7-3), Miami (FL) (7-3), Iowa (7-3), Florida State (7-3), Michigan (7-3), Southern Cal (7-3), North Carolina State (7-3), Northwestern (7-3), Maryland (7-3), San Diego State (7-3), Syracuse (7-3), Navy (7-3), Hawaii (7-3), Southern Miss (7-3), Tulsa (7-3), Central Florida (7-3), Baylor (7-4), Air Force (7-4), West Virginia (6-3), South Florida (6-3), Fresno State (6-3), Florida (6-4), Penn State (6-4), Kansas State (6-4), Connecticut (5-4).

Honorable Mention: Ohio (7-3), Toledo (6-4), North Carolina (6-4), East Carolina (6-4), Army (6-4).

I Hate Thursday Night Games

Screw the NFL Network. Why do they even get to broadcast games when, like, 2% of America subscribes to the channel? It's insane. I'm working so hard now I was oblivious to the fact there was a key NFL game last night.

Oh well, I guess I need to do the picks on Thursdays now...

Week 10:
Ravens over Falcons... being entirely too honest, but I wasn't paying attention to Matt Ryan's home record.

Lions over Bills... they've come close 3 weeks in a row, but I'm still not breaking rank.

Bears over Vikings... so, Favre showed some of that magic that makes him so popular. So what? He's still 41 and limping around... and it was the Cardinals!

Jets over Browns... the Browns have showed promise, but then again, they've reeled us in like this before. Remember Derek Anderson?

Colts over Bengals... at least Donald Brown is back. Plus, the Bengals had a short week. What NFL genius gave the Bengals the Steelers and Colts in a six day span?

Titans over Dolphins... yes, I'm starting Randy Moss this week, only because my 2-7 fantasy team has nothing else to lose. Expect other Titans receivers to burn Miami.

Buccaneers over Panthers... who would have thought two years ago that Josh Freeman would be a more successful NFL quarterback than Jimmy Clausen?

Texans over Jaguars... somebody in the AFC South has to step it up. It'll be ridiculous if the Colts win the division at 9-7.

Chiefs over Broncos... victims of a wacky officiating game last week, look for the Chiefs to pick up where they left off in Denver last year. Yes, remember the terrible Chiefs last year put 44 on the Broncos when they were fighting for a playoff spot.

Giants over Cowboys... my Eliminator pick of the week... don't screw this up Eli.

Cardinals over Seahawks... I couldn't tell you anything about either team.

Rams over 49ers... the more interesting NFC West pillow fight. I'm starting to like the Rams defensive unit, and Bradford hasn't died yet.

Steelers over Patriots... showcase of the AFC Championship?? Nope, they'll meet in round two.

Eagles over Redskins... will someone please tell these teams that the Giants are on the verge of running away with the division so they can get their act together.

Last Week: 7-9
This Week: 0-1
Season: 72-59

Getting Drawn in By College Football

As I sit here watching the ESPN 30-For-30 documentary on Marcus Dupree, one of the greatest football players that never was, I realize that no matter what the Tigers do (or don't do) I will always treasure college football more than any other diversion.

On to this week's rankings:
1: Auburn (10-0)
2: Texas Christian (10-0)
3: Oregon (9-0)
4: Boise State (8-0)
5: Michigan State (9-1)
6: Louisiana State (8-1)
7: Stanford (8-1)
8: Ohio State (8-1)
9: Nebraska (8-1)
10: Oklahoma State (8-1)
11: Wisconsin (8-1)
12: Utah (8-1)
13: Nevada (8-1)
14: Temple (8-2)
15: Northern Illinois (8-2)
16: Alabama (7-2)
17: Arkansas (7-2)
18: Oklahoma (7-2)
19: Arizona (7-2)
19: Mississippi State (7-2)
21: Missouri (7-2)
22: Iowa (7-2)
23: Virginia Tech (7-2)
24: San Diego State (7-2)
25: Fresno State (6-2)
26: Baylor (7-3)
27: Hawaii (7-3)

Also receiving "votes": South Carolina (6-3), Texas A&M (6-3), Florida (6-3), Miami (FL) (6-3), Penn State (6-3), Kansas State (6-3), Southern Cal (6-3), North Carolina (6-3), Florida State (6-3), Michigan (6-3), North Carolina State (6-3), Central Florida (6-3), Northwestern (6-3), Navy (6-3), Southern Miss (6-3), Tulsa (6-3), Pittsburgh (5-3), West Virginia (5-3), Air Force (6-4), Clemson (5-4).

Honorable Mention: Ohio (7-3), Maryland (6-3), Texas-El Paso (6-4), Miami (OH) (6-4), Toledo (6-4).

Week 11 Picks:
Texas over #10 Oklahoma State
South Carolina over Florida
Miami (FL) over Georgia Tech
#19 Arizona over Southern Cal
#23 Virginia Tech over North Carolina
#16 Alabama over #19 Mississippi State
#1 Auburn over Georgia
#12 Utah over Notre Dame
#22 Iowa over Northwestern
#7 Stanford over Arizona State

Last Week: 4-6 (28 pts.)
Season: 57-43 (358 pts.)

Paterno Gets #400 Today

That's right. Mark it down.

This Week's College Ranks:
1: Auburn (9-0)
2: Texas Christian (9-0)
3: Oregon (8-0)
4: Utah (8-0)
5: Boise State (7-0)
6: Ohio State (8-1)
7: Michigan State (8-1)
8: Alabama (7-1)
9: Oklahoma (7-1)
10: Arizona (7-1)
11: Louisiana State (7-1)
12: Stanford (7-1)
13: Missouri (7-1)
14: Nebraska (7-1)
15: Wisconsin (7-1)
16: Oklahoma State (7-1)
17: Nevada (7-1)
18: Mississippi State (7-2)
19: Baylor (7-2)
20: Virginia Tech (7-2)
21: Hawaii (7-2)
22: Central Florida (7-2)
23: Temple (7-2)
24: Northern Illinois (7-2)

Also receiving votes: Arkansas (6-2), Iowa (6-2), South Carolina (6-2), North Carolina State (6-2), Florida State (6-2), Maryland (6-2), Northwestern (6-2), San Diego State (6-2), Syracuse (6-2), Southern Cal (5-3), Florida (5-3), Texas A&M (5-3), Miami (FL) (5-3), Illinois (5-3), Michigan (5-3), Pittsburgh (5-3), West Virginia (5-3), Navy (5-3), Oregon State (4-3), Virginia (4-4).

Honorable Mention: Ohio (7-3), Toledo (6-3), Fresno State (5-2).

College Picks:
Clemson over NC State
Illinois over Michigan
#10 Arizona over #12 Stanford
#13 Missouri over Texas Tech
South Carolina over Arkansas
#8 Alabama over #11 LSU
Florida State over North Carolina
#2 TCU over #4 Utah
Penn State over Northwestern
#16 Oklahoma State over #19 Baylor

Last Week: 6-4 (41 pts.)
Season: 53-37 (330 pts.)

Pro Picks:
Falcons over Buccaneers
Bears over Bills
Patriots over Browns
Jets over Lions
Cardinals over Vikings
Saints over Panthers
Ravens over Dolphins
Texans over Chargers
Seahawks over Giants
Chiefs over Raiders
Colts over Eagles
Packers over Cowboys
Steelers over Bengals

Last Week: 7-6
Season: 65-52

If I Were a Gambling Man...

... I'd be screwed. What an unpredictable season! Last week was the first time I did well in both college and the pros. It may also have been the first week (this late in the season) when my high school (7-1), my college (7-0) and my pro team (4-2) all won... and are all in first place. And they all vanquished opponents that they hadn't beat in years.

On to the college picks:

#4 Missouri over #15 Nebraska... Sure, it's in Lincoln. Sure, it's a huge let-down-game possibility for Mizzou. Sure, what are the odds the Tigers do it twice in a row? BUT... so many people are picking Nebraska that it's no longer an upset. I feel like Mizzou is getting no respect here... they'll take that personally.

Iowa over #2 Michigan State... I realized during the picking process on ESPN.com, that the easy picks were all road teams. I don't think Iowa lets it happen two weeks in a row, especially at home.

Georgia over Florida... remember when we were counting out the Bulldogs after a 1-4 start. Well, here they are, just 1/2 game out of first. With some help, they could be in Atlanta in December. Florida's offense is perfect for Halloween... trick or treat.

Michigan over Penn State... where have Joe-Pa's boys gone? What's up with them? The Wolverines have been much more consistent.

Northwestern over Indiana... why are we picking this game?

Clemson over Boston College... here's hoping the Tigers can jump on the opportunity that the ACC Atlantic is still wide open.

#4 Oregon over USC... I have no faith in the Trojan defense. And that's not good when facing the best offense in the country.

#1 Auburn over Mississippi... it's entirely possible for #1 to lose in four straight weeks, but this is the least competitive of the four games. Ole Miss needs to figure out run defense, then we can talk about upsets.

$17 Oklahoma State over Kansas State... this one should be high scoring. About as high as Justin Blackman scored on his DUI "test."

#11 Ohio State over Minnesota... why is this game on TV? Has Minnesota just been unlucky in it's 1-7 start? Are they an underrated, dangerous foe? Ohio State is going to be prepared for the other top Big Ten teams to lose. They're just waiting to steal the Rose Bowl bid.

Last Week: 7-3 (40 pts.)
Season: 47-33 (289 pts.)

Pro Picks:

Chiefs over Bills... when the 5-2 Titans and the 4-2 Seahawks are the lone remaining winning teams on your schedule, and you have a 1-1/2 game lead in the division, you can't lose at home to the worst team in football.

Dolphins over Bengals... I'm done trusting Cincy. Period.

Cowboys over Jaguars... the 'Boys have one more chance. Good thing Romo can't screw it up for them.

Redskins over Lions... remember how the Lions ended their 22-game losing streak against Washington last year? Yea, so do the 'Skins.

Rams over Panthers... just like the Chiefs, the Rams are benefitting from slight talent improvements and a last-place schedule.

Jets over Packers... weren't the Packers a trendy Super Bowl pick? The fact that my ESPN fantasy team is 2-5 and Aaron Rodgers was my keeper pick tells you everything you need to know about the Packers... and the rest of my team.

49ers over Broncos... they got off the schnide last week, and they get to pick on the Denver defense.

Titans over Chargers... how much do the Chargers miss LT? Take a look at their rushing stats,

Buccaneers over Cardinals... I can't believe Josh Freeman may lead Tampa to the playoffs. C'mon Saints, pick it up!

Patriots over Vikings... if only Randy Moss had a quarterback that could get him the ball so he can exact revenge.

Seahawks over Raiders... yes, I'm picking the Chiefs to be up 2-1/2 games by November 1st. Weird, isn't it?

Steelers over Saints... the defending champs at .500? Believe it.

Colts over Texans... once is a fluke, twice is coincidence. Good thing Peyton doesn't believe in coincidence.

Last Week: 10-4
Season: 58-46

Week 9 College Ranks

The wait is over. Four weeks later than last year, but it's here. As a reminder, the record is the first thing. Then a four-part average of the AP, USA Today, and Harris Polls plus strength of schedule rank.

1: Auburn (8-0)
2: Michigan State (8-0)
3: Texas Christian (8-0)
4t: Oregon (7-0)
4t: Missouri (7-0)
6: Boise State (7-0)
7: Utah (7-0)
8: Alabama (7-1)
9: Louisiana State (7-1)
10: Wisconsin (7-1)
11: Ohio State (7-1)
12: Oklahoma (6-1)
13: Stanford (6-1)
14: Arizona (6-1)
15: Nebraska (6-1)
16: Florida State (6-1)
17: Oklahoma State (6-1)
18: Nevada (6-1)
19: Mississippi State (6-2)
20: Baylor (6-2)
21: Virginia Tech (6-2)
22: Hawaii (6-2)
23: Northern Illinois (6-2)

Also "receiving votes:" Arkansas (5-2), South Carolina (5-2), Iowa (5-2), Miami (FL) (5-2), Southern Cal (5-2), Michigan (5-2), Kansas State (5-2), North Carolina State (5-2), East Carolina (5-2), Northwestern (5-2), West Virginia (5-2), San Diego State (5-2), Maryland (5-2), Navy (5-2), Syracuse (5-2), Central Florida (5-2), Southern Mississippi (5-2), Air Force (5-3), Georgia Tech (5-3), California (4-3), Florida (4-3), Texas (4-3), Illinois (4-3), Clemson (4-3), Pittsburgh (4-3), Georgia (4-4), Oregon State (3-3), Washington (3-4).

Honorable Mention: Temple (6-2), Fresno State (5-2), Toledo (5-3), Ohio (5-3), Troy (4-2), Idaho (4-3), Houston (4-3), Army (4-3), Indiana (4-3), Penn State (4-3), Purdue (4-3), Louisville (4-3), Rutgers (4-3), North Carolina (4-3), Texas Tech (4-3), Texas A&M (4-3).

As you can see there are way too many teams here. I anticipate this is because of my inclusion of the Harris Poll, which obviously has no concern for record. I hope this number of teams receiving votes will decrease in the next few weeks.

Game Day Baby

Too busy of a weekend to put much but the picks out here, rankings will be next week, sorry.

College Picks
Missouri over Oklahoma
Auburn over LSU
Iowa over Wisconsin
Oklahoma State over Nebraska
Clemson over Georgia Tech
Hawaii over Utah State
Arizona over Washington
Miami (FL) over North Carolina
Alabama over Tennessee
Michigan State over Northwestern

Last Week: 4-6 (29 pts.)
Season: 40-30 (249 pts.)

Pro Picks:
Falcons over Bengals
Bears over Redskins
Titans over Eagles
Chiefs over Jaguars
Steelers over Dolphins
Saints over Browns
Buccaneers over Rams
49ers over Panthers
Ravens over Bills
Seahawks over Cardinals
Patriots over Chargers
Broncos over Raiders
Packers over Vikings
Giants over Cowboys

Last Week: 8-6
Season 48-42

It's Getting Cold Out There

I'll apologize ahead of time for the lack of energy in this blog. I'm tired. My co-ed kickball team lost the de facto league championship last night 7-5. I haven't been picking well. So basically, I'll need a Tigers and Chiefs win this weekend to get back on track.

College Picks:
Arkansas over Auburn
Michigan over Iowa
Purdue over Minnesota
Oregon State over Washington
Ohio State over Wisconsin
South Carolina over Kentucky
USC over California
Nebraska over Texas
Michigan State over Illinois
Alabama over Mississippi

Last Week: 5-5 (22 pts.)
Season: 36-24 (220 pts.)

Reminder: Next week I'll unveil my rankings and get the great debate started.

Pro Picks:
Bears over Seahawks
Ravens over Patriots
Giants over Lions
Falcons over Eagles
Steelers over Browns
Packers over Dolphins
Chargers over Rams
Saints over Buccaneers
Texans over Chiefs
Raiders over 49ers
Jets over Broncos
Vikings over Cowboys
Colts over Redskins
Titans over Jaguars

Last Week: 6-8
Season: 40-36

Octoberfest

College Picks:
Clemson over North Carolina... I don't know if UNC got all their players back from suspension yet or not, but the Tigers are so up and down I have to pick them THIS week.
LSU over Florida... well, RC was right last week. Florida's offense is nothing to be scared of, especially when your defense is as solid as LSU's.
Michigan State over Michigan... big day in the Wolverine State. The Spartans are lights out late in games this year and playing with emotion.
Stanford over USC... the Trojans should do everyone a favor and take the rest of the season off so the Pac-10 can have a clean 1-2-3 finish.
Pittsburgh over Notre Dame... yawn. Go Panthers.
Miami over Florida State... can we get a Wide Left II? I love seeing the Seminoles suffer.
Alabama over South Carolina... trap game my 275-pound ass. Roll Tide.
Arkansas over Texas A&M... I can't imagine how many points this Razorback offense is going put up on the Swiss-cheese-esque defense of the Aggies.
Auburn over Kentucky... not too look to far into the future, but the Iron Bowl is looking pretty huge this year isn't it?
Penn State over Illinois... how do you follow up a loss to Ohio State? Roll over for Penn State? Good luck with that reject from Rockhurst, Zook.

Last Week: 6-4 (33 pts.)
Season: 31-19 (198 pts.)

Pro Picks:
Chiefs over Colts... I'm sorry, I have to follow rule number one of picking games: never try to predict when an undefeated team is finally going to lose. Put it to you this way, the Chiefs have a chance to be relevant, this is when we find out if this coaching stuff has what it takes to fire up this young team.
Jaguars over Bills... rule number two? Never try to predict when a winless team will finally win.
Bengals over Bucs... this one is actually a tough call, the Bengals have the potential to win their division (as they did last year) and the Bucs have played well in their wins.
Falcons over Browns... I'd like to see Spoon take out Seneca Wallace, maybe get Moore another interception.
Rams over Lions... again, the Rams aren't terrible and I can't pick a winless team.
Packers over Redskins... McNabb will need all the help in the world to get the 'Skins going. They won last week because they knocked Vick out of the game.
Bears over Panthers... I thought about this one, but I can't go with Carolina until Clausen pulls one out, even if the Maytag Man (Todd Collins) is quarterbacking the Bears.
Ravens over Broncos... the Ravens defense got me last week, I won't make the same mistake again.
Texans over Giants... yes, the Giants can get to the passer, but the Texans have proven they can run the ball. Mark it down... this may be their year.
Saints over Cardinals... expect Chase Daniel to get some 4th quarter reps this week in a blow-out.
Cowboys over Titans... this is the last chance for the 'Boys. Win and stay in the hunt. Lose and forget the home Super Bowl.
Chargers over Raiders... the Bolts have to keep pace with the Chiefs in case they slip up, expect the two backs to run wild over the Raiders.
Eagles over 49ers... it's never good when you are picking your preseason NFC West champs to start 0-5.
Jets over Vikings... Randy Moss, Shmrandy Moss. Jets have found a way to score points and are set to make their run. Favre will try too hard to get the ball to Moss and throw a few picks.

Last Week: 6-8
Season: 34-28

Marathon Double

In honor of my friend RC who is in town for a marathon this weekend, I'll be adding his two cents on my picks.

College Picks:
Alabama over Florida... RC is not impressed by the Florida offense, and doesn't think they'll score much.
Boston College over Notre Dame
Stanford over Oregon... RC will take smash-mouth over speed anytime.
Iowa over Penn State
Virginia Tech over NC State
Michigan over Indiana
Wisconsin over Michigan State
Oklahoma over Texas... RC absolutely hates Oklahoma, but he agrees Oklahoma is the smart pick.
Miami over Clemson
USC over Washington

Last Week: 7-3 (49 pts.)
Season: 25-15 (165 pts.)

Pro Picks:
Falcons over 49ers
Jets over Bills
Bengals over Browns
Packers over Lions
Titans over Broncos
Seahawks over Rams
Saints over Panthers
Steelers over Ravens
Colts over Jaguars
Texans over Raiders
Chargers over Cardinals
Eagles over Redskins... RC's Eagles are too dangerous with Vick
Bears over Giants
Dolphins over Patriots... RC says he can't trust the Patriots defense against a Dolphins offense that has figured things out.

Last Week: 10-6
Season: 28-20

Bold prediction of the week: Both the Tigers and Chiefs will remain undefeated this weekend. (I love bye weeks)

The Q Factor

In honor of ConnQ's birthday, this week's picks (again combined) will focus on the Q-Factor, or what I believe ConnQ would think is the most important part of each game.

College Picks:
Boston College over Virginia Tech - Q-Factor: the Hokies' collective memory. Sure, they "redeemed" themselves after the loss to James Madison (not just one guy) by pounding ECU. But they trailed at halftime and didn't really take over until ECU starting making mistakes. If they are still thinking about the 0-2 start, they'll choke this one up.

Georgia Tech over NC State - Q-Factor: NC State's athleticism. Georgia Tech lost to kansas, who has lost to North Dakota St. and Southern Miss. How did Georgia Tech lose to kansas? The jayhawks are athletic and used their speed to keep the Jackets off-balance all game. Plus the triple option is not difficult to prepare for if you are athletic and well coached.

South Carolina over Auburn - Q-Factor: Press clippings. Are the Gamecocks reading the papers? If so, they'll be hearing that this is their chance to win the SEC East. It's too early to worry about that, so if they are, they'll lose focus.

Mississippi State over Georgia - Q-Factor: Dan Mullins. In the span of a week, I've gained respect for South Carolina and lost it for Georgia. Dan Mullins was at Florida for the recent back and forth with Georgia. He knows how to beat them, let's see if he has the talent yet.

Stanford over Notre Dame - Q-Factor: Notre Dame quarterbacking. I don't care who it is, they've got to help keep the Stanford offense off the field by controlling the ball. They've yet to go a game without a turnover and have 6 in the last two.

Boise State over Oregon State - Q-Factor: Beaver defense. If they can keep for giving up scores and big plays early, the Boise crowd might get restless. They'll need a 40-point fourth quarter lead to hold off Kellen Moore, though.

LSU over West Virginia - Q-Factor: LSU crowd. The only way LSU can lose this game is if the crowd gets disinterested or taken out by some big plays. Both teams are looking to prove something and the crowd has a chance to lift the Tigers above WVU.

Alabama over Arkansas - Q-Factor: Arkansas defense. Talk all you want about Ryan Mallett and the Arkansas offense. The only thing that matters is if they can get stops on the other side of the ball consistently. I don't think they can.

Nevada over BYU - Q-Factor: Colin Kappernick. Only because it's all up to him how many yards and points the Wolf Pack add up.

Oregon over Arizona State - Q-Factor: Sun Devil magic. Do they have any? They almost pulled off the huge upset in Madison last week. If it exists, they'll need it now.

Last Week: 6-4 (43 pts.)
Season: 18-12 (116 pts.)

Pro Picks:
Chiefs over 49ers - Q-Factor: Arrowhead. In all seriousness, the Chiefs are playing with a lot of heart, and the best way to keep that up is to play in front of a rabid home crowd. The crowd was a huge factor in the opener, if the fans show up knowing they can help build a 3-0 start, they win. Plus, most of the Niners will think it's 10 am at kickoff, they may still be asleep.

Ravens over Browns - Q-Factor: Joe Flacco. Time to use that short memory Joe. The Browns are the perfect cure for what ails you.

Texans over Cowboys - Q-Factor: Faith. What's been the biggest knocks on the consistently average Texans? They can't beat the Colts and they are always in the Cowboys' shadows. Well, they took care of one, time to believe in the Moo Cows.

Vikings over Lions - Q-Factor: Jahvid Best. The next MJD? Maybe. But they'll need to clone him because his back will give out carrying the Lions after week five.

Patriots over Bills - Q-Factor: Tom Brady. So you sucked last week, did you? You're punishment will be to play the Bills. Wait, that's not punishment? That's a reward? Dang. It didn't used to be.

Saints over Falcons - Q-Factor: Saints defensive game plan. Can they hold the Falcons down long enough for the offense to find their rhythm. (Hey, Drew, it's week 3. Isn't time you started playing like the defending champs?)

Titans over Giants - Q-Factor: Titans o-line. The Colts ran all over the Giants because of some whacky game planning. They need to remember who is in the backfield.

Steelers over Buccaneers - Q-Factor: Reality. Time for Tampa to realize they are 2-0 against the Browns and the Panthers. Only slightly easy, that's all.

Bengals over Panthers - Q-Factor: Bengals' corners. It only took two games to realize you have a better chance of winning with Jimmy Clausen instead of Matt Moore? Really? Cincinnati picked off Joe Flacco like he was throwing Get-Out-of-Jail-Free cards, expect more of the same.

Eagles over Jaguars - Q-Factor: Jacksonville linebacking. Coached by one of the greats, they need to be ready to chase Vick all over the field. Chances of success? Slim to none.

Redskins over Rams - Q-Factor: Rams o-line. Keep Bradford upright and they've got a slim chance. The Skins may have figured out the yellow pants are ugly, but a consistent offense is still out of their grasps.

Colts over Broncos - Q-Factor: Joseph Addai. Keep running like that, man. I'll need another 20 fantasy points from you this week.

Raiders over Cardinals - Q-Factor: Jason Campbell. He needs to find his niche on this team or he'll end up like Aaron Brooks and Jamarcus Russell (two other big-armed black QBs for the Raiders), collecting unemployment.

Chargers over Seahawks - Q-Factor: Mike Tolbert. He's already out-gained Mathews, he has a chance to put the rookie on the bench, permanently.

Jets over Dolphins - Q-Factor: Which Jets' team shows up. Week one failures or week two stunners... the Dolphins are hoping for the first one.

Packers over Bears - Q-Factor: Ryan Grant. The Cowboys ran for 36 yards last week, allowing the Bears to key in on the passing game. Grant needs to get going to keep the heat off Mr. Rodgers.

Last Week: 9-7
Season 18-14

100th Post - Double Duty from Denver

So, I'm in Denver this weekend for a wedding (friends of the wife) and my computer and internet access will be sparse. You're in luck, my 100th post will be a double (kinda triple) dipper. You'll get both the College and Pro picks in one blog! How excited are you!?!?!?

First, let's talk about how the Chiefs managed to beat the Chargers on Monday night. You can give credit to the weather. The rain put a damper on the speed of the Chargers on both sides of the ball. You could give credit to the fans. They showed up big time on Monday and reminded me what it used to be like to be a Chiefs fan. That place was so loud, I felt like I could hear the crowd from 115 miles away. You could say the Chargers didn't show up. They looked like they expected the Chiefs to roll over and die. If you said any of the first three, you'd be right, on some level. But I have a fourth proposal for you... the infusion of new players has changed the culture of losing in the locker room. Let me explain with some stats:

Eric Berry: 6 tackles and great shadowing of Antonio Gates all night
Dexter McCluster: 109 yards and 1 TD on just 6 touches
Javier Arenas: 1 tackle, 2 passes defended, and 119 yards returning
Tony Moeaki: 3 catches for 21 yards and 1 TD (to lead Chiefs receivers)

Now, those are the Chiefs first 4 draft picks from this year and they were prime contributors (not to mention Kendrick Lewis solid performance at safety that got no stats). Why is this important? These guys are part of a group of young talent on the team that doesn't know what it's like to lose. Look at their numbers:

Berry (Tennessee '07-'09): 22-17 in college
McCluster (Mississippi '06-'09): 25-25
Arenas (Alabama '06-'09): 39-15 (1 national championship)
Moeaki (Iowa '05-'09): 40-24
Lewis (Mississippi '06-'09): 25-25
Jamal Charles (Texas '05-'07): 33-6 (1 national championship)
Glenn Dorsey (LSU '04-'07): 43-9 (1 national championship)
Tyson Jackson (LSU '04-'08): 51- 14 (1 national championship)
Derrick Johnson (Texas '01-'04): 44-8

And that's just the beginning. Let's not forget Thomas Jones was in the AFC Championship game last year. Matt Cassel sat on the bench while USC won 2 national championships. Dwayne Bowe was on those same LSU teams as Dorsey and Jackson. The players on this team have won before, the coaching staff needs to keep the locker room positive, and the fans need to believe. I bet at no point on Monday did any of those guys think they were going to lose. That's what they need.

On to the College picks:
Much better than week one. If if wasn't for the upset in the MWC, I would have been alomst perfect.
Georgia over Arkansas... I'd be very careful of the road favorites in the SEC. Just because Georgia already lost, doesn't mean they won't defend home turf against a team that was pretty inconsistent last year.
Connecticut over Temple... great game, should be up-and-down and a preview of two postseason teams... wait, this is football. Nevermind.
Auburn over Clemson... take the Tigers in this one.
Notre Dame over Michigan State... how much do we know about the Irish at this point? Their vulnerable, but I think they've got enough talent to get by here.
Iowa over Arizona... don't sleep on the Wildcats. But they'll be losing sleep over the Hawkeyes defense this weekend.
USC over Minnesota... the Trojans are never afraid to travel to mediocre BCS teams. I'm just waiting for karma to kick Lane Kiffin in the butt.
Nebraska over Washington... it should be closer than most think. We'll find out how ready the Husker offense is for big-time games.
Wisconsin over Arizona State.... what is this Pac-10 versus Big 10 week? The Badgers should roll in this one.
Texas over Texas Tech... the Red Raiders have ONE signature win in the last couple years, Texas has championship pedigree. Who do you think wins this one?
Stanford over Wake Forest... I feel bad that Wake has to travel so far to get beat by so much.

Last Week: 8-2 (44 pts.)
Season: 12-8 (73 pts.)

On to the Pros:
If I had picked with my heart last week, I'd have gone 12-4. But no, I had to be reasonable.
Eagles over Lions... I wish Mike Vick some serious ill will, but you've got to like their chances here against a Stafford-less Lions team.
Falcons over Cardinals... one team barely lost against a good team, the other barely won against a bad team. So which team is the real loser?
Ravens over Bengals... is the Jets offense that bad or is the Ravens defense still that good? For that matter, is the Bengals defense really that bad and their offense that good?
Chiefs over Browns... it's not often the weather and the fans win games for bad teams, but I swear that was a different Chiefs team on the field Monday, they should keep playing hard.
Cowboys over Bears... I'm not sure who looked more disappointing last week, both teams should have easily won and struggled.
Packers over Bills... wow. Do I need to spend more than 15 words on this?
Titans over Steelers... I had a feeling the Steelers would be 3-1 after the first four games, here's the one.
Vikings over Dolphins... winning ugly is Favre's forte. Too bad he's good at losing ugly too.
Buccaneers over Panthers... "upset" special. The Bucs looked like they may be on to something last week, quite impressive.
Seahawks over Broncos... talk about changing my perspective on two teams so drastically in just one game, I was wrong about the NFC West being the 49ers' to lose. It's the Seahawks' to lose now.
Raiders over Rams... speaking of the NFC West, how did the Rams lose that game? The Cardinals looked terrible!
Patriots over Jets... if you can't pick up 10 yards consistently, you don't belong in the league. Even the Chiefs played better on offense than the Jets.
Chargers over Jaguars... The Jags could do some more damage to the AFC West, but I'll bet the Chargers are quite miffed about the result of Monday's game.
Redskins over Texans... here's my real upset special. Call it a let down game or pretend that the Skins are for real, either way, it's happening and there's nothing you can do about it.
Colts over Giants... remember when Manning versus Manning was more exciting on the football field than in Oreo commercials?
Saints over 49ers... wow, again. I'm totally disappointed in how Mike Singletary got out coached last week by a college coach... pretty sad. The Saints may struggle again, but the hardest thing to do in sports is defend a championship.

Last Week: 9-7 (Happily because the Chiefs won, the Cowboys, Broncos and Raiders lost)

College Football Week 2

So, ESPN is dubbing this weekend "Monster Saturday." There are several huge match-ups this weekend, and many teams are playing cupcakes. We learned last week that some teams are ready to go this season (Boise State) and some teams could be in for a VERY long winter (kansas).
Seriously, let's compare the Boise State victory over Virginia Tech to the kansas loss to North Dakota State. Did you know NDSU had a football team? Did you know they are in Division I (albeit in the FCS)? Quick, without looking, what is the NDSU mascot?
Anyway, the Broncos jumped out to big lead in a hostile "neutral" stadium and kept it close enough for the game winning drive in the closing minutes. Did you see Kellen Moore's career stats when Boise is trailing? How can you ever think you've put this team away? Several of the "experts" are saying these guys can play with ANYBODY in one game in a neutral field. They are extremely aggressive defensively and they can hurt you on offense in several ways. There team is full of "dirty white boys," guys who don't know the meaning of finesse, guys who play physical and aggressive, my kind of football players.
Now, how about kansas... well, what do you say about a team that puts up 3 points on an FCS opponent at home? In all honesty, I'm rooting for Turner Gill to be successful. He's much more likeable than Mangino. They need to figure things out, especially with a top 20 BCS team coming to town this week. Good luck, chickenhawks.

On to the picks...
Hawaii over Army... the Rainbows put up a lot of yards on USC's defense, not sure Army's defense compares.
Georgia over South Carolina... it's time for the contenders to separate themselves from the pretenders.
Michigan over Notre Dame... the Wolverines proved me wrong last week (as did the Irish) so look out for this team's speed to carry the day even in bad weather.
Oklahoma over Florida State... this will be the closest game of Monster Saturday, it's really hard to go against OU's home winning streak, but look for FSU to make it VERY tough.
Oregon over Tennessee... shouldn't be easy, but Oregon's offense should put up several more yards and win easily.
Stanford over UCLA... the Bruins did not look good against K-State last week and I'm pretty sure Stanford is better than the Kittycats.
Alabama over Penn State... freshman quarterback playing on the road against the defending champs... talk about pressure. Roll tide.
Ohio State over Miami (FL)... battle of good quarterbacks and big play talent, take the home team... in fact, take them big.
BYU over Air Force... yeah, it's 9/11 but I don't think the Falcons are on the same playing field as the Cougars, could be a good game though.
Iowa over Iowa State... this is still a bit a rivalry, but the talent differential is too great for the Cyclones to have much of a chance.

Last Week: 4-6 (29 pts.)

One last thing: I hear a lot of talk this morning about how Boise State (or TCU) don't have the "body of work" to compare to the SEC/Big12/BigTen teams. Some people are saying Boise State doesn't deserve to be in the BCS Championship discussion even if they go undefeated. Here's my argument. You can't punish them for being in the WAC, just because they stand out of a group of bad teams doesn't mean they aren't the best. They play only one top 10 team this year and ten non-BCS teams. Well, preseason rankings are crap... what if the 6 top 10 teams Alabama plays fall off the dace of the earth? Is their schedule still tough?
Finally, what happens if every other team in the country loses two or more games and Boise State is still undefeated? Are they not deserving then??

2010 NFL Preview and Predictions

So the season starts off tomorrow night with a rematch of the NFC title game between the Saints and Vikings, and thanks to some clever words and begging, Brett Favre is back with the Vikings. Three of his teammates convinced him to come back for another shot because it was "about the team" not himself... yeah, I'll buy that for a dollar.
I think the Packers were justified in their situation when he left them, they had a young stud in the waiting. The Jets drafted a quarterback to replace him. But the Vikings aren't confident in Tavarius Jackson so they begged Favre to come back, we'll see how this works out.

As for what I think will happen...
AFC
North: Bengals (12-4), Ravens (10-6), Steelers (9-7), Browns (2-14)
South: Colts (13-3), Titans (9-7), Texans (8-8), Jaguars (5-11)
East: Jets (11-5), Patriots (10-6), Dolphins (8-8), Bills (3-13)
West: Chargers (10-6), Broncos (8-8), Raiders (7-9), Chiefs (5-11)
NFC
North: Packers (12-4), Vikings (9-7), Bears (6-10), Lions (4-12)
South: Saints (14-2), Falcons (10-6), Panthers (6-10), Buccaneers (3-13)
East: Cowboys (10-6), Eagles (9-7), Redskins (8-8), Giants (5-11)
West: 49ers (10-6), Cardinals (8-8), Seahawks (4-12), Rams (2-14)

Playoffs: Patriots over Chargers, Jets over Ravens, Cowboys over Eagles, 49ers over Falcons
Jets over Bengals, Colts over Patriots, Packers over Cowboys, Saints over 49ers
Colts over Jets, Packers over Saints
Colts over Packers

So there you have it, I think the Colts win the Super Bowl. I know, it's going out on a limb just like my Alabama pick, but I think this year will show that the NFL is going to be in big trouble without a salary cap (could be an uncapped season next year if the collective bargaining agreement is allowed to expire). The teams with the best players will be able to re-sign them in the uncapped year and not take a hit. So expect the teams that were good last year to be good this year and vice versa. Of course if major contributors leave (like Arizona losing Kurt Warner and Anquan Bolden) then the team might slip. It should be a fun year though.

Week 1 Picks
Saints over Vikings... sure, the Vikes are thinking revenge, but it's too early to expect the best from Favre. If they meet again in the playoffs, we may be looking at a different result.
Dolphins over Bills... so who do you think the Bills will take with the #1 pick next year? For this week I'll go with Tyrelle Pryor.
Bears over Lions... this should actually be a good game, the Lions are better and the Bears probably aren't, so I'll take the home team.
Titans over Raiders... the Raiders will be better with Jason Campbell, but it will be a slow start.
Patriots over Bengals... another close one, take the home team again. The Patriots will have the tougher road to the playoffs, though.
Giants over Panthers... this whole "take the home team in close early season games" is probably getting boring for you guys, huh?
Steelers over Falcons... how about, "I really like Dennis Dixon's skills and he'll lead the Steelers to as many wins as Roethlisberger does?" Don't buy it? Fine, take the home team in a close game.
Browns over Buccaneers... this is the ugliest game of the week, I guess the question is "who's the worse quarterback, Jake Delhomme or Josh Freeman?" That's like asking if you'd rather be killed with knife or a different colored knife. (Sorry, I'm watching CSI right now.)
Broncos over Jaguars... let's see how long it takes Denver to utilize Tim Tebow. I'll bet he's the starting QB after week 6 when their 3-3.
Colts over Texans... we're still a Peyton Manning retirement away from someone other than the Colts wins the AFC South.
49ers over Seahawks... this is the year the 49ers get back to the playoffs, especially because of the tailspin the Cardinals are going to take. The Seahawks are a few key 20-year-olds away from having a good college team (they've got a great college coach).
Packers over Eagles... let the corination of Aaron Rodgers begin.
Cardinals over Rams... nothing like a game against the weak Rams to avoid displaying the inevitable tailspin.
Cowboys over Redskins... Donovan McNabb had trouble beating the Cowboys when he was with the Eagles, my how times haven't changed.
Jets over Ravens... give the Jets defense and the fans some credit, they shouldn't lose the first game in their new stadium.
Chargers over Chiefs... I'd like to think my boys won't lose their first Monday night game in 2+ years at home, but these aren't the Chiefs I grew up with.

Stay tuned for College Week 2 on Friday...

2010 College Football Preview and Predictions

It's the 1st of September, folks. Where's the football hoopla? We're mere hours away from the kick-off of the 2010 football season and Labor Day weekend promises to be big this year.

A quick note, this morning I watched "Mr. Nice Guy," a badly dubbed Jackie Chan movie that's just like all the others... he's a nobody who gets caught up in a gang war or drug deal and ends up having to fight hundreds of guys to stay out of trouble, then his girlfriend gets kidnapped and he has to take out revenge. They're all the same... so why did I watch it so intently? Why did I even rewind the DVR to re-watch some of the fight scenes? Because it's Jackie Chan, and it's just plain entertaining. It's the same thing with college football, it's the same story every year, but I still can't take my eyes off it.

Conference Predictions:
ACC: Coastal - Virginia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Duke, Virginia
Atlantic - Florida State, Clemson, Boston College, Maryland, Wake Forest, NC State
Everyone is big on FSU again, and maybe for good reason, but I can't unseat Va Tech from the favorite spot just yet, they'll win the whole thing. If they take care of Boise State, they'll be the team to beat. Look out for Miami, and Maryland will be a surprise.

Big 10: Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota, Purdue, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois
Iowa has the favorable schedule but Wisconsin and Ohio State have the returning stars. Then again, Iowa has not lost a game that Ricky Stanzi has started and finished. Michigan still won't turn it around and Penn State is dangerous.

Big East: Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Connecticut, West Virginia, Rutgers, Louisville, South Florida, Syracuse.
Pitt has the most depth returning and they should be able to unseat Cincinnati this time. UConn is dangerous, they've been through hell and back. Louisville will turn a small corner and WVU will struggle some.

Big 12: North: Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas State, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas
South: Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas, Baylor, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State
Oklahoma over Nebraska. Missouri will be lucky to win 8 games (more on that later). Texas will miss McCoy, A&M is dangerous, and Baylor will surprise. Time for Kansas to start planning for basketball season (I mean their quarterback's name is Pick, c'mon) and Oklahoma State wishes Dez Bryant hadn't met Deion Sanders.

Pac 10: Stanford, Oregon State, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, USC, California, UCLA, Arizona State, Washington State.
The hardest conference to pick. I changed my mind at least twice on each of the top 6 teams. Lane Kiffin will understand karma quickly, Oregon's off-field issues will catch up to them, Washington will surprise, and Stanford will quietly head to the Rose Bowl with 3 losses.

SEC: East: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Vanderbilt
West: Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State
Alabama over Florida again, like a broken record. This will be the year that people start questioning the depth of the SEC (or maybe Florida and Alabama are just THAT good). Auburn and Georgia should be tough too.

MWC: TCU, BYU, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado State, UNLV, San Diego State, Air Force, New Mexico
The Frogs may be headed for the National Championship but the rest of the conference will lag behind. I hate to admit it, but Christensen has Wyoming on the verge (maybe two years away).

WAC: Boise State, Nevada, Idaho, Hawaii, Fresno State, Louisiana Tech, San Jose State, Utah State, New Mexico State
If Boise State weren't so good, Nevada could sneak into the BCS. They'll win 10 games though and Fresno State will seriously miss Ryan Mathews.

MAC: East: Temple, Ohio, Miami (OH), Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Kent State
West: Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Ball State, Toledo, Eastern Michigan
NIU over Temple. The Huskies' running back is very good.

Sun Belt: Middle Tennessee State, Troy, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Monroe, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana-Lafayette, North Texas, Western Kentucky
MTSU "dashes" to 10 wins, could be a big season for these bottom feeders.

C-USA: East: Central Florida, East Carolina, Marshall, Southern Miss, Memphis, UAB
West: Houston, SMU, Tulsa, UTEP, Rice, Tulane
Houston will run away with it. They may crash the BCS, but I bet SMU gives them a serious challenge (may even beat them).

Another note: I also watched the first half of the USA vs. Iran basketball game. I did so for two reasons:
First, I think I like this team better than the Redeem Team in '08, especially because LeBron is no longer who I thought he was... and yet here's Durant, Rose, Westbrook, Curry, and Love looking just as impressive. Seriously, Kevin Love is putting up a double-double off the bench and throwing perfect outlet passes to the Rose/Billups/Westbrook/Curry four-headed point guard who then drops a pretty dime to Durant/Iguodala/Gay for a monster dunk in transistion. Explain to me how that's any different than Howard to Williams to James. It's NBA players, but their still mostly under 22, which harkens back to the amatuer team days. It's the best "college aged" players coached by the best college coach (Coach K)... and it's working nicely. Sure the play hasn't been crisp, and if they go cold, they could actually lose, but the defense has been solid and the dunks are still there.
Second, back in the days of the Cold War, you'd watch every USA vs. USSR event for the sole purpose of waiting to see if it'd turn into a war on the court/field. The 1976 gold medal basketball game is a perfect example. Well, now that the USSR is no more, and the Taliban isn't exactly fielding Olympic teams, the US needs an enemy... and I'm sure Iran would love to oblige. I'm just waiting for a fist fight to break out, just so I can say I saw the incident that started the Iranian War (or whatever it'd be called). Fortunately, it was actually a solid sportsmanship game all around.

Back to the Predictions...
So for the BCS, here's how it will go:
Rose: Iowa over Stanford
Fiesta: Ohio State over Oklahoma
Orange: Virginia Tech over Pitt
Sugar: Florida over TCU
BCS Championship: Alabama over Boise State
I know, it's not exactly going out on a limb with the Tide rolling to a repeat, but it's common sense... they're only getting better offensively, and if you think Nick Saban will let the defense slip even a litte, you've got another thing coming.

Week 1 Pick 'Em (in order of least to most confident pick):
- Purdue over Notre Dame... you'd think any team with a Montana at quarterback can't loose. Well, this Montana has zero career attempts and 1 suspension already. The Boilermakers pull the upset and ruin Brian Kelly's crusade against the football gods.
- UConn over Michigan... and another upset, in the Big House no less. How the mighty will fall... again. This will also signal the Huskies are for reals.
- Washington over BYU... they were so close a few years ago, and any team who's coach plans on playing two quarterbacks while admitting it's not always a wise decision is doomed.
- UCLA over Kansas State... who made this schedule? I thought Bill Snyder was their coach? Since when does a Snyder-coached Wildcat team play BCS conference teams for non-conference games?
- TCU over Oregon State... week 1 is where we find out if TCU (and Boise) can stay on track to
win a BCS title. If TCU's defense has slipped too much, the Beavers should make this very interesting.
- LSU over UNC... all the off-the-field crap going on in Chapel Hill can't help them with the pressure of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff (huh? why is that pressure?)
- Louisville over Kentucky... a new coach may be all the Cards needed to get back on track.
- Missouri over Illinois... you may be wondering why this isn't my most confident pick. Well, as bad as Illinois is, I feel that for the first time in several years, the Tigers have a ton of negative off-the-field mojo. Their best running back is facing sexual assault charges, they've had a couple of key players get hit with DUIs in August, and the luster of the '07 season is completely gone. They may have missed their chance in the Big 12.
- Cincinnati over Fresno State... the Bulldogs will miss Mathews much more than the Bearcats will miss Tony Pike. In fact, put Zach Calleros on the dark-horse Heisman list for me, right now.
- Colorado over Colorado State... the Buffs may still be struggling, but they are good enough to take out a weak mid-major right now.

Well, enjoy the season. Have a wonderful Labor Day. Next week, the pros take over...

8 Days a Week or Why It's Hard to Be a Royals Fan

So, it's late August and, of course, the Royals are legitimately out of playoff contention. But this time of year always brings false hope to us True Blue faithful. While they haven't made the playoffs in 25 years, they always seem to put together an exciting winning streak this time of year to sucker us in for another season, sell some season ticket packages and make promises about "promising" young players.
Here's what happened this last week:
- Defeated the defending champion Yankees 1-0 on Sunday with former No. 1 pick Brian Bullington pitching eight innings (facing the minimum) and some help from a couple Yankee errors.
- Took 2 of 3 from the struggling Indians (having one of those "we really are a small-market team, aren't we?" seasons)
- Took 2 of 3 from the contending White Sox... which after a rain-out on Friday meant 3 games in two days and because of ridiculous scheduling and some extra innings meant 31 innings in 22 hours.

Okay, so what? The Yankees weren't being patient at the plate, the Indians don't have pitching, and the White Sox are self-destructing. No big deal. Most baseball fans don't get over excited about a 5-2 streak, especially this 5-2 streak that included one win by more than 1 run.
But that's just it. The Royals don't win 1-0 games... they don't win any 1-run games, especially extra-inning games. But when they pulled that 3-6-1 double play and then threw out Cervelli stealing against the Yankees, or when Betancourt hit the grand slam then drove in the winner in Game 1 Saturday, I get sucked in. I never constantly check the score, but on Saturday at the bar I was on the wife's phone refreshing the box score every 10 seconds (because the bar sucks and wouldn't put the game on... but little league softball was okay).
In 2003, The Sporting News ran a cover story "It's August. Do you know where the Royals are? That's right. First place." The quirky team that started 9-0 and 16-3, led the division for 107 days (by 7 games at one point), then faded in late September and finish 7 games out of the playoffs.
It was really rough on me because I was working at the Columbia Missourian and often found myself finishing articles late, while they put the sports section together, monitoring every Royals score like a pregnancy test. Turned out, an easy April-May stretch and a few contract-year performances led to the lead. Then they ran into the Angels, White Sox, Twins, and Yankees down the stretch. They went 13-16 when it mattered (the Twins and White Sox caught them with 29 games left and for a couple weeks they were within 2 games of each other).

I am by no means suggesting that the decent week for the Royals will lead to a playoff run. I'm just trying to show you what they can do to their fans.

Kansas City vs. St. Louis

Time to attempt to answer the most debated topic in central Missouri: Which is the better city, KC or STL?
This argument may not be relevant in many places, but when you've spent 10 years interacting with people your age who tend to have a strong opinion on the subject, you start weighing the arguments. It's time to put this to bed... or at least tell it to go to time-out.

(Note I realize I'm technically biased in this debate, but not as much as you'd think.)

Place to Live
There are several factors that go into which city is a better place to live, and if you factor in the surrounding suburban areas, there is even more to consider.

Crime Statistics: Comparing crime rates, STL rates a 10 in both violent and property crimes, whereas KC is a 7 and 6 respectively. Independence is one of the only suburbs with a higher than normal rate (7/9), but if we compare the cities on the other side of the state line, East STL is an 10/9 but KCKS is a 7/8. So the nod goes to KC on this one.

Housing Cost: Recent reports have average single-family home prices in STL slightly lower than in KC... edge to STL.

Cost of Living: According to a CNN Money calculation, someone making $25k in KC would comparably make $23k in STL, and only groceries and health care cost more in STL... edge to STL.

Education: Yea, KCMO school district is not currently accredited. Fortunately, the suburbs have solid schools. STL is well known for it's private schools, so this one kinda depends on the type of education. SchoolDigger.com ranks KC schools slightly higher, so they get this one... barely.

Entertainment
This attempts to answer the question of which city can you have the most fun in? There is no real answer to this, but let's take a few factors into consideration.

Amusement Parks: I hear good things about Six Flags and I get the impression it's more fun for all ages. Plus the STL zoo blows the KC zoo out of the water... edge to STL.

Culture: The Science Center versus The Nelson Art Museum... edge KC. The Fox Theater versus the Tivoli Theater... edge STL. Riverport versus Sandstone... edge KC. The Arch versus Liberty Memorial... edge STL. Budweiser brewery versus Boulevard brewery... edge STL. When it's all factored together, and including KC's history as a jazz hotbed, the edge goes to KC.

Food: I've sampled some of the STL Italian food, and it is very good. But I'm going to have to lean on my bias just once... KC barbeque is the best. KC even has enough great Italian places to trump the good STL barbeque... edge to KC.

Sports Teams: Almost laughable. STL leads the city championships 11-2. While the Rams are newish to town, the Cardinals have been playing for over 110 years and the Blues have been around. KC didn't have a professional team until the '60s, the Athletics were bad, the Royals got off to a slow start and are no wmuch worse, the Scouts (NHL) had 2 years of ineptitude, and the Kings struggled. Accept for the Chiefs' early success, not much to talk about other than the '85 Series... despite the result in head-to-head championships, edge to STL.

Beauty
I've never really thought about KC as a beautiful place, and of course, it depends on what part of the city you are in. STL has the nicest park and it's highway system is better (and makes more sense), but the scary parts of KC are harder to find.... edge STL.

Final Verdict
I need more information/experience, but I'll lean slightly toward STL. I still like KC better, but this can be an open debate... let the flood of comments begin.

The Draw of Fantasy

So, I've been spending some time (maybe too much) lately on prepping for the upcoming Fantasy Football season. For the second year in row, I'm running a league on ESPN with a bunch of my friends. It's affectionately known as the IWWL (Idiots With Whiskey League). More importantly, I'm in a league on CBS with what I think are high school kids in Kansas City. If you've never done fantasy sports before, here's a warning: participating in more than one league at a time may cause health problems... both mental and physical.
Here's the thing about fantasy sports, it's either addictive or annoying, but not in between. With real sports, you can be a casual fan... checking scores occasionally, cheering when good things happen, shrugging off losses, ignoring it when things get busy elsewhere in your life. But casual sports fans don't like fantasy sports, they can't be casual. They are annoyed by all the stat-crunching, game-watching, and random-player-cursing. I know my wife doesn't care for it because she gives me "that look" on Monday nights when I'm crossing my fingers that Dallas Clark will get 14 more yards or that Ronnie Brown will fumble. I know that look, it's the "Are you serious? If I'd have known you were this crazy, I wouldn't have married you" look. It's the same look I get when I'm cursing at the Playstation or Wii for cheating. But fantasy fans known what I'm talking about. They are just as concerned as I am about the training camp battle for the number two receiver position in Indianapolis.
Why is it addicting? Well, from the perspective of someone who grew up wanting to be a pro athlete, it's a chance to live out dreams. When I was a kid, I turned my backyard into a football (or baseball) field and my driveway into a basketball court. I played out entire seasons of make-believe football or basketball in my head, pretending to pass the ball, being tackled by no one in particular, blocking my own shots, intentionally dropping passes I threw to myself, just so I had control over the situation. (Did I mention I'm an only child?)
Once guys like me pass the point of no return on the pro sports career (in my case it all came crumbling down when I was 15... talk about a reason to be angst-ridden), they usually turn into an arm-chair coach or general manager. They watch games and complain about the call on third-and-7 or the decision to leave the starting pitcher in. They say things like "If we can just get some middle relief, we might contend for the playoffs" or "We need to get him more touches late in the game." Sounds crazy, no?
Fantasy sports allows us to semi-execute these thoughts and stay hooked into the entire league when our real teams suck. I'm sure fantasy football is less popular among Colts fans as it it for Bills fans. If you love football, and you aren't particularly tied to a college team (or they suck, too), then fantasy football is an outlet for your fandom.
So, all that being said, here's the problem with having two fantasy teams at once: it's easy to either forget about one team or make both teams the same. If you two teams with a 14-man roster, you're probably monitoring the stats and injuries of 25-28 guys (more if you are planning a trade or free-agent signing). Either one team falls by the wayside, or you start decreasing that number by signing the same free agents and trading for guys on your other team. What's wrong with that? Well, odds are you aren't going to win BOTH leagues... it's much more likely that you'll fail in both.
Now, I'm not going to hand out any analysis... mostly because I don't know what I'm doing, I've never won a fantasy league. I'll keep you updated throughout the season.

On to some reader comments:
From the College Football Realignment bit:
Bill said: "While I think this is a decent analysis from the football perspective, such conference shuffling will impact all men's and women's sports, and some consideration of other sports should be taken into account. I emphasize "should" because with the recent Big 12 shenanigans that left KU out of the talks completely, we at least see that even men's basketball doesn't have such a (financial) influence as football. Ultimately, you'll have to make a business/tv revenue case that will be financially sound before anyone will seriously consider such reshuffling."
Here, here. All the shifting made no mention of how poor the other programs may be. By adding Nebraska, the Big Ten got better in football (for now) but they got MUCH worse in basketball. Does the Pac-10 know that Colorado doesn't field a baseball team? Or whether or not Utah's women's teams are worth anything? It's all about the benjamins, I guess. That being said, my argument was attempting to supersede any talk about money... I just mentioned it from a "smaller schools can SAVE money" perspective.

ConnQ said: "Hmm.... I only have one thing to say. I don't like it. You know me. You've left out one big reason to keep the bowl system and not have a "playoff" (boo hisss) - tradition. Yep, that's what I like tradition. Oh and you can say we'll have the "non-playoff" bowls and call the playoff games X-bowl or Y-bowl, but you know it won't be the same. Them's my 2 cents, but keep thinking about and one day you'll see the light.
I made no argument FOR the bowl system for good reason: it's become a monster, primarily due to corporate sponsorship. What kind of tradition is the Outback Bowl or the PapaJohns.com Bowl? There are only four bowls with any sort of tradition: Rose, Orange, Sugar and Cotton. You're telling me that the FedEx Orange Bowl has just as much tradition as the Orange Bowl? If you can't keep the bowl game financially afloat without adding a corporate tag, don't have the bowl game, you've sullied the tradition already.

Oh - and I want my team in the New South (oxymoron anyone?). I mean with Houston, Rice, TCU, UTEP, North Texas, SMU, New Mexico, NM St., Tulsa, La-Lafayette, La-Monroe, La Tech in my conference I won't need to schedule 5 cupcake teams to have a good record. I could have a terrible team and keep a better ranking than most great SEC teams. Lucky me, illusory rankings! Them's my other 2 cents."
Just because a talented team goes 8-4 in the SEC, doesn't mean it WILL go 12-0 in the WAC. My argument is that conference alignment should have no baring on your National Championship aspirations. Put the teams on the field and let the results determine your champ. I still can't give Alabama the title because they didn't beat TCU (no one did). True, if you were TCU in this scenario, you'd be the favorite to win, but that doesn't garauntee anything. I could give up the rule that you have to be ranked by record, but the point is if you are 9-3 you should have less of a chance at the title than an 11-1 team, irregardless of what conference you're in. You do go 11-1 or 10-2 by accident.

On the "About Me" post:
A-Mac said: "What can you say about Kansas except...at least they're not from Canada."
I don't know most kU fans are about as insufferable as French Canadians.

My dad said: "Bottom line - nice history lesson - never quite sure why you saw fit to deliberately latch on to teams in opposition to the ones I liked. It might've been nice to root for the sames teams, although I supported your choices. The only reason I've been a (extremely frustrated) Pirates and Redskins fan is because Mark (his younger brother by 2 years) has always been a Yankees fan and a Cowboys fan and I hate both of those teams. Granted, except for beating the Yankees in the '60 series, the only time the Pirates have been contenders was in the mid-late '70s when they had Stargell and crew."
Just as your brotherly rivalry was all in fun, so was ours. Except for our recurring kU/MU rivalry (which is usually quiet), I no longer cheer against your teams.

I still need more ideas for columns. We're coming up on football season and I'd like to keep you all from being bored with my predictions.

About Me

For sports fans, the teams we cheer for are more than just part of our personality, they are part of the fiber of our being. We schedule our lives around games and events. We link sports memories to moments of our lives (and vice-versa). We instinctively know exactly what will happen at certain points of the season, or at specific moments in the game. We're superstitious. We're irrational in our rationality. We're flat-out crazy sometimes (okay, all the time).
I'm creating this blog post so that arguments, feelings and rants have a reference point. I'll link readers back to this point so they can answer the "what did he mean?" questions.

First, (as of July 27, 2010) I'm 28, married for just over a year, and child-less. I was born and raised in Prairie Village, KS (SW suburb of KC). I have two Bachelors and a Masters from the University of Missouri. I'm 6'3" and 275 lbs. I was a high school athlete, and have logged time in basketball, football, baseball, soccer, and track/cross country.

Who are my teams? First, you must know that growing up in Kansas City in the '80s (and I consider your formidable sports years as 6-18) and '90s, the local teams left much to be desired. Early on, I picked the teams that were a direct rival to my dad's teams, switched once, but I've always leaned towards the KC teams.

Baseball - My father chose the Pittsburgh Pirates as his team when he was a kid. You have to remember, even though the Athletics franchise was in KC from '55 to '67, they NEVER finished above .500 and were constantly laughable (often referred to as the Yankees' farm team). Ironically, they finished 82-80 in their first year out in Oakland. So you can't blame my dad for not adopting the temporary team that wasn't good.
Early on, I cheered for the Royals. I have NO recollection of the '85 season. Since then, they had a better record ONCE, no playoff appearances. The late '80s and early '90s were the beginning of the slide. They were good, but not great. Since the AL and NL were essentially different sports, I felt it was okay to also be a Cincinnati Reds fan. In 1990, they beat the Pirates in the NLCS and cheering against my dad was fun. My love for them has faded, since with the invention of interleague games, it seems wrong to be a baseball bigamist.
Here's the thing about being a Royals fan. There isn't much hype for the baseball season. When you prefer football and college basketball, the summer can be boring. Every year, there is something about the season to get excited about, but you're grasping at straws. This year, they have the defending Cy Young winner (Greinke) and a solid closer (Soria)... meaning, every 5 days they just need to score 3 runs and they win. They picked up some more 5-tool-like players (Ankeil and Posednik) and appeared more capable of producing runs on a regular basis. Almost 100 games later and most of us have given up. 42 - 57, 4th place, 12.5 games out of 1st, Greinke struggling, Ankeil enjoying collecting money on the DL. As you can see, baseball season ends in early June for most Royals fans. Since I have no memories of the '85 Championship, I don't really have much to go on. But, I'm enough of a fan that if I was living in KC and earning a solid paycheck, I'd find some people to go in on season tickets... could be the year, right??

Basketball - Speaking of franchises that stopped over in KC on their way to California... it's the Kings, or as they were know before the move the Royals. Previously in Rochester and Cincinnati, the Royals moved to KC (and Omaha, NE) before the '72-'73 season and were renamed. While we had to share them with Omaha for 3 years, they were an entertaining bunch. Unfortunately, once again, their best years were before my time. In a three season span from '78 to '81, they went 135-121 with 3 playoff appearances (including a conference finals trip in '80-'81). After I was born, they had a solid 45-37 season (no playoffs somehow) in '82-'83, then a playoff appearance the next year (despite finishing 38-44), then a 50+ loss season, then they moved to Sacramento.
They are still the team I like to cheer for, especially with the 8 straight playoff appearances from '99 to '06. The '01-'02 team that went 61-21 got robbed in the conference finals against the Lakers. Before that, like any other kid without a home-town team, I was drawn to Jordan's Bulls. It's the only time I've ever really rooted for a dynasty team. It just didn't feel right after he retired, so I gravitated towards the Kings and also the Pacers... man I loved Reggie Miller. The Pacers were another team with tough breaks (including the Melee in Detroit in '04 that got their best players suspended for a long time).
Currently, with NBA teams I gravitate towards likable players like Wade, LeBron, Durant, etc. I usually don't care about the NBA until the playoffs, unless the Kings or Pacers are doing something special.

Football - A similar situation as with baseball. The Chiefs were not around until '63 and even then they were an AFL team, which garnered them less respect. My father first chose the Detroit Lions, then the Washington Redskins as a kid. So, in my formidable years I chose to root for the Dallas Cowboys, the Redskins rivals.
Now the Chiefs have won a Championship (3 AFL titles and a 1-1 Super Bowl record), but well before I was born. From then until '90, the Chiefs went 109-154-4. Their only playoff appearance in '86 was also their only 10+ win season (10-6) and one the five times they finished above .500 in that stretch. So for the first couple of years of my "fandom," I was a Cowboys fan. Then I latched on to the fun-to-watch Buffalo Bills, and of course during that time ('88 - '94) the Bills were 77-35, they won the AFC East every year; but, of course, they were 10-6 in the playoffs. Most importantly, they lost 4 consecutive Super Bowls (one to the Redskins). I'm pretty sure I cried after Scott Norwood missed the game-winning field goal attempt against the Giants in Super Bowl XXV... but I had just turned 9. (Underrated in that loss was the fact that if the NFL allowed 2-point conversion attempts at that point, the Bills would have gone for two when the scored in the fourth quarter to go up 18-17. A two-pointer makes it 20-17, then the Giants' late field goal only ties it and their is less pressure on Norwood.)
Lucky for me, the Chiefs picked it up in the early '90s. During Marty Schottenheimer's coaching stint, the Chiefs were 101-58-1. They made the playoffs 6 out of 9 seasons, but fell short (losing to the Bills in one AFC Championship). Since Marty left, they've had the 2 playoff appearances (both losses) and have gone 79-97 (including the latest 8-38 stretch).
It's tough to be their fan... of course, I also picked up a casual fan-ship with the Carolina Panthers. Of course, they have had like 3 good years, and sucked otherwise.

Hockey - Since KC doesn't have a hockey team, who cares about hockey?

College - This is the most important part. Growing up in Kansas, it was hard to avoid the Jayhawkers. I made due by becoming a K-State fan. Sure there are pictures of me in kU gear, but it was primarily free. The loathing I have for the Jayhawks started my senior year of high school. I applied to both Mizzou and kU and was accepted to both. My dad is a kU alum, while my mother (and most of the rest of her family) is a Mizzou alum. Mizzou made a good offer: $22,000 scholarship over four years to offset the out-of-state costs, plus I was accepted to one of the top Journalism schools in the country. The offer from kU came almost 3 months later. I was to get $8,000 over four years. Here's what "angered" me. I thought I deserved more of a full-ride. I graduated in the top 10% of my high school class of 456 with about a 4.3 GPA. I had a 1350 on the SAT and a 29 on the ACT. Where's the love?? Once enrolled at Mizzou, I learned how the rivalry worked... especially that the historic football record was in dispute because kU used an ineligible player in one game in the '60s. And so it began...
Sure, I missed the tragic NCAA Tourney game against UCLA (when Tyus Edny went coast-to-coast with 4 seconds for the winning LAY-UP! Not jumper, LAY-UP). I also missed the "5th Down" game against Colorado in '91. Also, the "Kicked Ball" game against Nebraska in '97 (it'd be referred to as "the Nebraska game" if there weren't more memorable Nebraska moments). In my 10 years following the Tigers closely, they've given me some great moments...
- The 4-OT basketball thriller in '01 against Iowa State
- Both Elite Eight runs in '03 and '09.
- The "Christian Moody Game" (Mizzou beat kU in '06 in Columbia when Moody missed two free throws with no time on the clock)
- All three of Zaire "Mr. Big Shot" Taylor's game winners (at Texas in '09, v. kU in '09, and at Iowa State in '10)
- JT Tiller, TJ Soyoye, and DeMarre Carroll... enough said.
- Three National Champion wrestlers
- Beating Nebraska in football for the first time in 27 years in '03... then again in '05... then again in '07... then finally winning for the first time in Lincoln in '08... and we didn't just beat them, we dismantled the "Black-Shirt Defense" by 175-71 in four games.
- The endless parade of entertaining, big-hitting linebackers... James Kinney, Ming "the Merciless", and Spoooooon!
- Beating then #2 kU in Kansas City in '07 to move to #1 after previously #1 LSU had also lost... the safety in the end-zone, the grass stuck in Todd Reesing's helmet, the "We're Number One!" chants.
- That whole 2007 season was awesome: 12-2, witnessed all 6 home games plus both neutral-site games (8-0 in those games), took in that kU game in Arrowhead with K-Wall (just a girlfriend then, but not for long), my dad (in kU gear), and my maternal grandfather (a Mizzou alum), the Tigers scored like 500 points that year, won the North division (outright, dammit), destroyed Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl after being jilted for the Orange Bowl by kU (who they beat). Except for the two losses to Oklahoma, a perfect season.
- Mike Anderson and his defensive wizardry
- Ressel's game winning field goal (and the "Beast Mode" uniforms) against kU in '09. (Don't forget the comeback was aided by another safety of Reesing in the same end zone as '07)
- Oh, and Brad Smith... can't forget the most exciting player in recent history.

Then there are the bad times...
- The women's soccer team missing the NCAA tournament despite winning the conference regular season in '09.
- The BCS selecting kU over Mizzou (ranked #8 and #6, respectively) for the Orange Bowl in '07 despite the ranks and that Mizzou beat them on the field.
- Eric Crouch turning a close (6-3 at halftime) Mizzou v. Nebraska game in '01 into a 36-3 shellacking by breaking a tackle in his own endzone and scrambling 107 yards (97 from scrimmage) for a touchdown in the third quarter.
- Quinn Snyder, Rickey Clemens, Kurt Farmer, Larry Smith, Darius Outlaw, Trevon Bryant, Josh Kroenke
- "The Club Athena Incident" and ensuing fallout (most of the remaining Snyder recruits getting suspended or benched by Mike Anderson in his first year).
- Two words: Paige Lorie
- The baseball team not begin able to get over the hump and make the College World Series despite countless pitchers being drafted into the Majors in the last 5 years.
- Losing to Troy on ESPN2 (while ranked #18) in '04
- The many thumpings the Jayhawks have handed us in Allen Fieldhouse (some really embarrassing losses)
- The '06 Sun Bowl (calling timeout to ice the Oregon St. kicker on his game-tying extra point attempt with no time left, then having the Beavers come out and go for two... and getting it)
- The "gold" jerseys against kU in '08

I could probably go on... but you get the picture. I may not be a fan of Cleveland teams, or the Cubs, or from Seattle... but I'd say I'm a tortured fan.