Unrelated Chatter:
-I was indirectly told by University of Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan that I have good taste in clothing. This may be as unrelated as unrelated gets but please, like you expected me to not brag when I receive a complement from the coach of the defending national champs, however indirect it may have been.
-It appears as though I am going to have the “honor” of getting to witness John Cena vs. Kevin Federline in person on the January 1st edition of Raw. I know that is the biggest college football day of the year but I have one word my friends, Tivo.
-If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and go see the new “Borat” movie. I may be a little biased as I am a big fan of “Da Ali G Show” but the movie is hysterical. And possibly the best news to come out of it is that they are going to begin filming the “Bruno” movie sometime around February. Wowoweewow!
-The first week of the NBA is in the books which means it is almost adoption time. I’m a die-hard Nets fan but since they only play 82 nights out of the year and NBA League Pass shows games each night of the week (not to mention west-coast games), each year I select a few teams that I just enjoy watching play basketball. Not just because of their record but I have found myself watching a lot of Jazz games thus far. Who would’ve thunk it, athleticism in Utah! I’m also harboring a man-crush on Bulls rookie forward Thabo Sefalosha. I first heard about him out of Switzerland 2 years ago and have followed him like a proud parent since. He is going to be awesome.
-And finally its Election Day so go out and vote, or don’t. I hate it when people say go out and vote so your voice can be heard because if you don’t vote then you can bitch at whoever wins. And that my friends, is what makes America such a great country.
Related Chatter:
-With college basketball just around the corner (and the preview due out Thursday), let’s kick things off with the latest out of Durham, North Carolina where the Cameron Crazies are going to be losing some crazy this season. According to ESPN.com, Duke’s student section, which has been allowed to stand on floor space behind press row for decades, is being forced to retreat to the bleachers in Cameron Indoor Stadium in the interests of fire safety. Coach K was a bit enraged by the decision and I really can’t say that I blame him. While obviously I am all for the safety of the students, you mean to tell me it was just realized that this is a fire hazard? I’m not buying it. No doubt this should make it a little easier to play in Cameron for opposing teams, but only time will tell.
-Texas Tec’s leading scorer Jarrius Jackson, who was previously kicked off the team for academic violations, is now practicing with the team again. If there is one thing Bobby Knight knows, its discipline!
-Shifting gears back to football, let’s discuss the weekend that was. Quite a few of the top teams in America, namely Ohio State, Michigan and Florida, struggled in their games versus far lesser opponents. It certainly isn’t time to hit the panic button in Columbus, Ann Arbor or Gainesville as these kinds of things happen this time of year. Michigan and Ohio State are no doubt looking ahead to their match up against one another while Florida has other things on their mind besides Vandy. By no means is it excusable to overlook your opponent but let’s be honest, they are only human.
-Can we get a birth certificate check on Colt McCoy? The redshirt freshman is playing far beyond his years as with a few games to go he has already broken the Texas single season touchdown passing record set by a couple of guys named Vince Young and Chris Simms. It would certainly be interesting to see what would have happened had Ohio State played Texas at the end of the year as opposed to the beginning.
-Florida DT Marcus Thomas has been booted from the football team. The reason has yet to be specified but considering he was already suspended 2 games earlier this season for testing positive to marijuana, I’ll just connect the dots and say it was related.
-I hate to say I told you so but, I told you so. LSU went into Tennessee and took care of business for only the second time in school history. Jamarcus Russell was a little shaky at times (3 interceptions) but rallied the troops on the final drive and led the Tigers to victory.
-Darren McFadden is good, very good. 2007 Heisman Trophy winner good. Earlier in the year I stated that Arkansas was still a year or two away from being legit but I would have to say that they are here to stay as of now. As a student at the University of Florida, I would still much rather face them in the SEC Championship game as opposed to Auburn or LSU.
-What the hell I will even give the Pac-10 some love today. USC bounced back nicely against winless Stanford while Jekyl and Hyde UCLA kept it close against Cal. Backhanded complements or not, we’ll consider that the Pac-10 love for the day.
-Boise State, Rutgers and Wake Forest continue to roll while nobody notices. Boise State is looking like they are on track for a BCS bid while Wake Forest and Rutgers are alive as well. Rutgers has a huge showdown coming up this Thursday night with #3 Louisville coming to town. Considering Rutgers used to struggle to get anyone in the building, the fact that tickets are scalping for nearly $500 is mind-blowing. Wake Forest travels to Florida State this weekend and Florida State will actually be the one in the spoiler role. Ticket scalpers at Rutgers and the Jazz are playing athletic basketball! What next, a Jewish QB at Notre Dame?
-All kidding aside, I’d like to wish a quick and speedy recovery to Penn State coach Joe Paterno who broke his leg in a collision on the sidelines this past weekend. Most people at his age are bedridden or sent to a nursing home when they break a leg. Joe Pa? He wants to be on the sidelines this Saturday.
That’s all for now, be on the lookout for the big college basketball preview this Thursday. Until then, vote or die!
