I forgot to wish everyone a Happy Hanukkah last week and since tonight is the last night I guess I can still squeeze it in so Happy Hanukkah! In addition, Merry Christmas and Happy Kwanzaa to all my other readers. Let’s get on with the chatter”¦
Unrelated Chatter:
-It was good to see an old friend, Les Thatcher, featured on the Pulse Wrestling page yesterday. As a matter of fact I just received a Happy Holidays card from Les and have been a little slow in sending one back so if you’re reading Les, you may just have to settle for an email.
-Glad to see Miss America got to keep her crown. Not that I really care, I just have a soft spot in my heart for really hot chicks.
-I saw “The Pursuit of Happyness” this past week and I must say I was a little disappointed. The true holiday sleeper is “Charlotte’s Web,” which was written far better than the Will Smith flick. Before I get buried, I should say I went to see Charlotte’s Web with my mom who grew up with the book and the movie and I figured the least I could do was take her to see it. Truth is I may have enjoyed it even more than she did.
Related Chatter:
-Thanks to everyone who sent along their feedback this week in regards to my statement about Greg Oden being the best big man in college that I have ever seen. Many of you sent in names of some of the all-time greats but I think the point was missed that I was referring to who I personally have been around for. I am a few months shy of my 23rd birthday so while yes Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and a host of others who you mentioned were fantastic players, I was either too young or not born yet when they were in college. The earliest memory of a college big man I have is Shaq tearing down the backboard at LSU and that would be the only memory I have of him in college.
And while I have seen tons of footage of all of the greats who you guys mentioned, none of them did it as a true freshman like Oden.
-Since we are already talking about Oden, we might as well get into the huge matchup between Ohio State and Florida this Saturday at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. Florida has three things going against them in that Corey Brewer is still rusty after his return from mono, Al Horford is expected to miss this Saturday’s game with an ankle sprain and the crowd will be decidedly quieter with no students on campus. Joakim Noah, backup center Chris Richards and perhaps freshman Mo Speights certainly have as good a chance as anyone in America to stop Oden but the loss of Horford will be crucial. Ohio State is more than a one man show and guys like Mike Conley and Daequan Cook are looking to make a name for themselves against the defending national champs. Plain and simple this game should come down to who has the better day, Noah or Oden.
-Florida and Ohio State aren’t the only marquee match up this weekend as quite a few top teams in America play against interesting opponents. Michigan travels to #1 UCLA this Saturday but don’t be fooled by the Wolverines 11-1 record. Michigan has played quite a few cupcakes to say the least but could erase some serious doubts about how good they are with a win in Pauley Pavillion. UCLA’s defense and home crowd should be a bit too much for the Wolverines to handle as Michigan should worry more about keeping this one closer rather than thinking upset.
-Dayton travels to #7 Pittsburgh this Saturday night in a pretty interesting match up. Dayton has wins this year over Louisville and Creighton (yes, both teams have been disappointing) with their only loss coming on the road against a solid SMU team. Dayton gets to travel to Pittsburgh Saturday before a trip to #2 North Carolina next Sunday. The Flyers are perfectly capable to win one of these two games although both seems out of the question. Pittsburgh is coming off of back to back loses to Wisconsin and Oklahoma State and Dayton may be able to catch them off-guard here. I’m not saying Dayton will win, but if they were to win I would not be shocked.
-A battle of two somewhat disappointing teams takes place in Lawrence, Kansas this Saturday when Boston College travels to 12th ranked Kansas. As many in the media have said, Kansas may be better off ranked outside of the top 5 because it allows them to play without being under the microscope. Kansas seems to be a much better team when they aren’t expected to win. Boston College has had to fight through suspensions but appears to have righted the ship. I hate to be a fence-sitter but with these two teams its hard to say what to expect. Even though the game is in Lawrence, if either team won by 20 it would not surprise me just as it wouldn’t surprise me if these two played an overtime classic. Your guess is as good as mine.
-College basketball takes a hiatus after Saturday until Wednesday the 27th, so expect a hiatus until about then from me as well. I am off to a solid start with my bowl picks (2-0), so let’s see if I can keep this hot streak going. My picks are below:
Bowl Season Picks (Spreads courtesy of wsex.com)
(Bowl Season Record vs. The Spread: 2-0, Last Week: 2-0)
12/22
Troy vs. Rice (-4.5), New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, LA)
12/23
East Carolina vs. South Florida (-4.5), Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, AL)
San Jose St. vs. New Mexico(-3.5), New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, NM)
Utah vs. Tulsa (+1), Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, TX)
12/24
Arizona St vs. Hawaii (-7.5), Hawaii Bowl (Honolulu, HI)
12/26
Middle Tennessee State vs. Central Michigan (-9.5), Motor City Bowl (Detroit, MI)
12/27
Florida State vs. UCLA (-4.5), Emerald Bowl (San Francisco, CA)
Alright folks, that should do it. Happy Holidays to everyone and be sure to check back next Wednesday or Thursday for the return of Campus Chatter. Until then, Happy Holidays!
