Unrelated Chatter:
-Lord Eric stated in his column the other day that I have a saggy ass and for all the female readers out there, this is anything but the truth. Feel free to myspace or facebook me for proof. No ass shots of course, just my charming good looks. I’m the guy in the Mets hat.
-Is anyone else as sick as I am at the constant disregard for the fans by the NFL and ESPN? Monday Night Football in New Orleans was one of the most tasteless things I have ever witnessed. New Orleans is one of the most historically rich cities in America in terms of music and they get Green Day and U2 to perform? Anyone who likes anything Green Day puts out these days is no friend of mine and U2 just doesn’t do it for me. And I never curse in this column but WHY THE FUCK would Green Day choose to play “Wake Me Up When September Ends?” These people are trying to move on from a tragedy, not be reminded. And don’t even get me started on that incoherent piece of crap song that U2 and Green Day collaborated in.
-For anyone who missed it, do yourself a favor and watch Tony Roberts’ performance on Def Comedy Jam this past week. I consider myself to be somewhat of stand-up comedy connoisseur
and holy crap was he on the money. It’s been 5 days and my friend and I are still laughing as hard as we did on Sunday at even the mention of the word ‘suspicious.’ For the record, I hope Dane Cook dies in a car accident if that clears up my taste on stand-up comedy.
-Has anyone else watched the new Chicago Cubs documentary on HBO? I thought it was about 500 times better than the one that they put out for the Red Sox a few years ago. It almost made me feel bad for Cubs fans, almost.
-Last but not least, fellow Met fans please calm down. The loss of Pedro Martinez is not nearly as bad as people are making it out to be. His last dominant start came back in May and he has been a shell of his former self all year. Would I rather have him on the mound than Steve Traschel? Of course, but at this point and time there really isn’t much of a difference.
Related Chatter:
-Just to clear things up, Florida fans did not directly boo Chris Leak last week. Trust me I am probably his biggest critic but the boos were not directed at him. The boos were more directed at the fact that freshman sensation Tim Tebow drove the Gators down the field and then was pulled in favor of Leak to punch the ball into the end zone. Let the media say whatever they want, I was at this game and they were not.
-So let me get this straight, South Carolina has a converted wide receiver return to his natural position of quarterback, he plays outstanding and no one says a word about it? I do a ton of research both on my own and for this column and there has not been one mention of why he started over Blake Mitchell. Did I miss an injury or something? If anyone has any info please email me because I am totally in the dark on this one.
-BYU really made a statement last night in its manhandling of TCU. TCU was everyone’s “it” team this year but BYU did a great job of giving them yardage but making the important stops.
-Alabama comes to town this weekend to take on the Florida Gators and I have been really impressed with the amount of Alabama fans that are in town already. As of writing this it’s 1:45 P.M. on Friday and I have seen a bunch of fans of the Crimson Tide. I’ll discuss the game a little later on but I always enjoy conversing with fans from opposing teams. Last week I had a lot of fun having drunken-post bar conversations with Kentucky fans and talking about what they need to do to turn around the program, good times.
Week 5 Picks (Spreads courtesy of wsex.com)
(Season Record vs. The Spread: 24-22, Last Week: 1-4)
I went 1-4 with my picks last week but I do feel I deserve somewhat of a mulligan as I only went with Penn State because I thought it was a home game for them. Nonetheless I’m here to redeem myself this weekend, to the games we go.
#23 Rutgers (-4) at South Florida: As someone who has been all aboard the Rutgers bandwagon all season, I have a feeling they are due for a letdown game. I don’t think it happens here though because Rutgers has way too many Florida players on their roster to not get up for this one. Plus with Rutgers being on national television as a member of the top 25 I think the adrenaline might be a little high, hopefully not too high.
Rutgers 28 – South Florida 17
#1 Ohio State at #14 Iowa (+7): Alright well I don’t think I can mess up where this game is because I have read bout 1,000 times that this is the only the second night game ever at the University of Iowa. The first night game also featured a #1 team coming to town and the Hawkeyes did not fare too well in that one. Kirk Ferentz is probably my favorite coach in America and while I don’t think Iowa emerges victorious, I think they will keep it very close. An Iowa win certainly would not surprise me here though.
Ohio State 31 – Iowa 27
Alabama at #5 Florida (-14.5): I was a little bit hesitant, but I decided to take Florida even though they are giving up 14.5. Florida was absolutely murdered last year when they went up to Tuscaloosa and they certainly have revenge on their mind. Plus with the way that Alabama struggled last weekend at Arkansas, I really cannot see them fairing much well in front of the Florida faithful at the Swamp.
Florida 41 – Alabama 21
#6 Michigan (-9.5) at Minnesota: Can the media please stop saying that Michigan is entering a trap game this week. Minnesota is a very blah football team while Michigan is playing like one of the best teams in the country. I really don’t see any way that the Gophers can find a way to contain Manningham, Henne and Hart. Michigan wins in a laugher.
Michigan 38 – Minnesota 14
#24 Georgia Tech (+10.5) at #11 Virginia Tech: If ever there were a good week to catch the Hokies off guard, this would be it. Va Tech will be short two starters due to suspension and after their showing last week against Cincinnati, I really don’t know if they can afford to be missing anyone. Georgia Tech quarterback Reggie Ball must keep the turnovers to a minimum and if he is able to then we might have an upset in the making.
Georgia Tech 24 – Virginia Tech 20
Purdue (+14) at #12 Notre Dame: If you thought last week changed my mind on Notre Dame then you are sadly mistaken. The Golden Domers’ comeback was certainly impressive but they still did not look like a very good football team. Purdue is a young team that while I don’t think are capable of winning this game, they do have a chance to keep it respectable. I’ll take Coach Tiller and the points, but just barely.
Notre Dame 44 – Purdue 31
Houston at Miami (-16.5): Truth be told, if this game were in Houston I would consider picking Houston to upset Miami. The Canes are in a very sad state right now and while the schedule lightens up over the next month, it is only going to give Hurricane Nation false hope. If Miami struggles or even manages to lose this one then Larry Coker is gone by Monday. And in all honesty he would probably be doing the team a favor if he resigned regardless. Houston’s offensive line is in shambles right now due to injury and it’s unfortunate because this could have been Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb’s coming out party. I can’t imagine Miami not coming out fired up as a loss here means they enter the month of October without a victory over a D-1A opponent, yikes.
Miami 38 – Houston 17
That’s all for this weekend. Be sure to enjoy the slate of games as well as the pennant races going on around baseball.
