Saturday, October 22, 2005

ugh, whew, again

I couldn't be happier and more upset. Sly Newton is done for the season. But USC is 4-3. We have a good chance to win two more and a chance to win all four. Doubtful maybe, but a chance is all we want this time.

Next Go ASTROS!!!! Adam Everett is a Gamecock and needs to be recognized. Go Stros. I say 5 Gms they win. I picked them last year in my pick'em. This year I had the Angels and Marlins. Guess I was wrong by one year.

Friday, October 21, 2005

whew!!!!

What a week. Work has been busy so no top five, and no comment on the BCS. I don't know if I'd have the Trojans number one in the AP, but they've done everything asked of them so far.


Okay Pick 'em:

Texas 41 Texas Tech 31
Tennessee 13 Alabama 15
Auburn 23 LSU 10...no real reason just feel it
Clemson 59 Temple 10

My beloved Gamecocks will squeak by Vandy...24 - 17. Good game for both teams to stretch bowl eligibilty further along.

Reggie Bush won the Heisman last week. My question is can Vince Young do enough to make it close? I say yes. I still think if the Heisman is an MVP, Maurice Drew is the most important man on the west coast, Maroney is the most important man to the Midwest, Brodie Croyle in the South and in the Southwest, Vince Young.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Shocking Saturday

Couple of quick picks. I see an upset today, can't decide if the Irish will do what they did to FSU in 93, or if Colorado will do what they did to Texas a few years ago....

USC 34 ND 21
Colorado 43 Texas 29
Louisville 41 WVU 38
LSU 13 Florida 10
Michigan 24 PennSt 17

RIP Jason Collier, that is sad

Go Michelle Wie

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Some Call Me Maurice

Well what's happening at the half way point of many teams seasons?

USC is not quite living up to the hype by performing in a full game. Texas might be better than expected, Florida State is better than expected as are Georgia and Alabama, but LSU and Michigan have been disappointing.

Today my Heisman vote goes to Maurice Drew. Pure offense. The Bruins are undefeated and most of the reason is Maurice Drew. NFL talent in UCLA again. I posed the question earlier this year who would you rather see come back to glory? Pitt., Alabama, BYU, Penn ST, Navy, or Nebraska. Silly me. UCLA should have been available. They along with Bama, and Penn ST are undefeated with great wins along the way.

So I thought LSU in the Rose Bowl versus USC. Katrina hurt their chances, not totally but enough. Now I really like Georgia's chances, and Virginia Tech. One of these teams is gonna give So Cal fits. Aggressive Southern Style Defenses. Ass D's we'll call them.

Anyway the high five for now...

USC
Texas
Va Tech
Georgia
FSU

Colts
Steelers
Patriots
Chargers
Broncos...NO NFC

Friday, October 07, 2005

Oh Manny, you came and you gave without taking...

Roger Clemens is 43 years old. Jeff Francoeur was 7 months old when Clemens made his major league debut. Julio Franco had played two years before Francoeur was born, and Clemens debuted.

Think about this also. John Smoltz is old, but not nearly as old as Clemens who has pitched five more seasons. Look at Clemens' face and Smoltz's face. They look the same age. Ozzie Guillen was a rookie in 85, Clemens first year. Francoeur was 1.

Manny Rameriez is easily one of my favorite players of all time. For a couple of reasons. First he is the clown prince of cleanup men. Second the guy is good, capital G.

Picks for the week.

Texas 42 Oklahoma 20
Michigan 51 Minnesota 48
Tennessee 26 Georgia 12
UCLA 45 Cal 35
Ohio St. 41 Penn ST 9
South Carolina 29 UK 17

I love Erin Andrews.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Sports Notes Not Related to the NFL or MLB

Well, I had a reasonably successful week predicting games, got many correct, but scores were wrong. I was not overly impressed with Alabama when they beat USC. Not blown away. Now I'm convinced. These guys are going to take the West and could beat any East team in December if they play as well as they did Saturday. But now they are without their greatest weapon on offense. The loss of Tyrone Prothro is the type that many teams can't recover from. Two things though. Remember David Palmer? He wasn't the cornerstone of the 92 championship team, though a game breaker and always a threat, defense won that year. Remember Freddie Millons? He disappeared after an injury at UCLA the last season Alabama went 10-3. Reason number two: Alabama goes undefeated every thirteen seasons, look it up. 1966, 1979, 1992, 2005? You're welcome Bama fans the hex has been placed!

What is wrong with USC is the question of the week. It's Tuesday and the final is less than 60 hours old. Well since no one reads this blog and not everyone has asked the question I'll remind myself what I've been telling everyone.

Reasons for our poor play: (reasons are not excuses, I really am happy some of these happened)
* Spurrier doesn't have "his" players. Its not that we don't have talent, neither does Notre Dame or Penn State right now. We've got players they aren't Georgia or Tennessee players but they are good enough to play for most SEC or ACC teams. But we don't have the linemen where we knew we'd be weak. It happens, do you remember when we had one of the best two lines in the SEC? Like two years ago we had several top notch guys...attrition is a bitch. We haven't recruited this position well. Holtz can tell you this. He knew it last year and alluded to the youth and lack of experience. It caught up.

*Five games into a new system with a running quarterback. No not the one you think. Antonio Heffner is a running style QB, he doesn't have an SEC arm. I'm talking about Blake Mitchell. Blake was in a running offense in high school and for his first season at USC. He's thrown more passes in four games than he did in his high school career, and that makes him our best choice at QB. Knowing that he probably was getting 80% of the practice snaps, maybe higher.

*Losses to THE MAN. Once again these are not the guys I want on the team, but lets say it didn't happen. Cory Boyd, Moe Thompson, Demetrius Summers, and others could have contributed. Cory Boyd was poised to be the feature back after that idiot Summers screwed his life up with drugs. Thompson would have been a premiere DE this season in the SEC, but he too cannot seem to get the big picture. He would have been stealing paychecks every Sunday in 06.

*We do play in the SEC. Friends I don't care who you like, who your team is, no one can tell me that playing Georgia and Auburn on the road with the above factors is easy. We are lucky also, our toughest part of the schedule is still remaining against UT and Florida, not to forget instate rival Clemson.

Finally I want to give very belated props to my second favorite golfer Chris DiMarco, who for some reason isn't loved the way Paul Azinger is by patriotic golf fans. DiMarco was a stud this past month in the President's Cup, which oh by the way is a pretty weak version of the Ryder Cup. DiMarco is the best player with the least wins in any form of golf. You are due big boy.

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Week 5 October!!!

Many apologies for this late post but check the time stamp it is pre noon, these picks are legit. I've had a tough two weeks, too many "I hope so and so wins".

This week my two favorite Pac Ten teams are playing. I like USC more now since they win and should win it all, and I like Arizona St's logo, and uniforms. I swear I'm normal. My love of Arizona St gets rekindled each time they have a good football or baseball team. I think of that school as party paradise, and really like the women. But these two play in what is the most important game of the day nationally.

USC 49 ASU 35 this may be the half time score even if both quarterbacks go down, but I'm going with it. Too many horses.

So many other good games not getting the love this week. Some unranked teams battling ranked teams in some true danger games por exemplo...

Michigan at Michigan St. take State 21 Mich. 20
South Florida at Miami can't do it two weeks in a row, can they? Hurricanes 13 Bulls 9
Tennessee and Mississippi in the all wheel of fortune game, actually this is the SEC and I'm certain there's a fifth of whiskey and an epic novel as trophies...Vols 31 Rebels 10.
Minnesota vs. Penn ST. PSU is undefeated, as are the Gophers, but the Gophers always start strong and fade. That will continue, barely. 27-21.

Florida and Alabama. A good ole' southern clash. You know what though. Alabama has beaten Florida in this series 19-12. Florida wasn't even competitive until Spurrier put them back on the map. Since they are 7-3. Zook never played 'em but he would have rolled. Today Urban Meyer rolls the crimson, and we find out who truly is the class of the south. Florida 56 Alabama 21.

Notre Dame has been interesting this year, and today they play a "high powered Purdue team". Hasn't Purdue been high powered for a while now? ND 31 Purdue 17.

Two close calls for the top 5 today. Texas 28 Missouri 24. Virgina Tech 41 West Virgina 31.

And finally Clemson gets nasty and murders Wake...45-9. USC gets ugly and killed Auburn 27-6.

I should go back to bed if this is going to be the way the day goes....