Could It Be?
Could there actually be *REAL* football on this weekend? Football that means something? As I always like to say this time of year, in the words of the wise Mr. Garrison, well spank my ass and call my Charlie - it is college football season.
I must admit that I didn't start to get that tingly sensation about football season until Monday of this week. I was starting to worry a little bit that I was becoming numb to it, but fear not, the tingling is in full force. (not like that)
Believe it or not folks, there are actually a good slew of games on this weekend - and because it's the usual Labor Day weekend kickoff, we get A LOT of games spanning from Thursday to Monday night. Such as...
Louisiana-Monroe at Texas:
What do you want me to say? Blah blah blah blah blah....... 52-6.
Georgia at Oklahoma State:
This is actually a very big game for both these teams this year. Georgia has been it's usual good, but suspect self over the years and could gain some clout in the standings with a nice road win to kick things off. Oh yeah, they're also doing it without Stafford or Moreno - we'll certainly get a good look in the Georgia cupboard this weekend.
On the flip side, Okie State r-r-r-r-r-r-eally needs a big home win to start the year off on the right foot. They haven't been ranked this high, this early in like 20+ years so they can't lay an egg now....can they? You bet they can. Here's how the season's first game week went for the Cowboys - their starting tight end leaves the team for personal reasons (shortly after being slapped with a restraining order against him by his girlfriend), and one of their starting senior DBs was arrested for driving with a suspended license, and now it's believed that one of the starting senior LBs has sustained a potentially season-ending knee injury. Good luck with all of that. I mentioned this in my last post (Cowboys being overrated), but this could very well be a 7-5 year for the Cowboys. Of course this is also the kind of team that would lose to Iowa State, the Aggies, Grambling State and then go into Norman the last weekend of the year and beat the Sooners. That's Gundy for you.
Nevertheless, Georgia is bringing in a fairly young and inexperienced team (especially skill positions) and that could certainly be a big factor. Even with all of the aforementioned issues for Okie State, they still have the dreaded offensive trio of Robinson/Hunter/Bryant and that's worth A LOT. I think this is a tough-fought game and I'm taking the home team and that 3-headed monster. Barely. But just so I can ride the fence on this game a little bit - if Georgia pulls out the win I will guarantee you it will be because of coaching snafus on Oklahoma State's side.
Oklahoma State - 31
Georgia - 27
BYU at Oklahoma:
This is a good game for OU - there's a little luck that they've been on a high note the last few years, but a good game nonetheless. Unfortunately this is going to lose some of it's intrigue simply because in addition to some lost talent, BYU has a rash of bad-luck injuries on the defensive side of the ball. I think OU's offense will find the holes pretty quick. Both offenses will be able to put some points on the board so should be fun.
Will be interesting to see what kind of pressure, if any, the Cougars can get on Bradford with that new offensive line. Given the aforementioned injuries I would guess this would be a very good tune up game for that offensive line to work out the kinks - I think it's the following week that they visit what's sure to be a very fast Miami team.
Oklahoma - 41
BYU - 24
Alabama at Va Tech:
This is the game of weekend in my book - I'm very interested to see what both of these teams will be able to do. The Hokies have a good, tough looking team coming into the year - unfortunately, however, they will be going without the services of their starting RB who's out for the year. They do have an experienced offensive line coming in and I've read that just about anyone can run behind those guys so we'll see.
The Crimson Tide will be replacing a whole slew of offensive players and I'll be honest, I have no clue how they're going to score points this year. Defensively, I think they've got some decent players coming back led by an all-world nose tackle, but what they really have going for them is Nick Saban. The dude knows how to coach and knows how to prepare his team. I think this game is in Atlanta so it's a neutral site which should make for an interesting affair. I'm going Virginia Tech in this one, pretty big too. I think they come out of a very tough ACC this year and could find themselves in the right place at the right time should the right teams stumble at the right time. We'll see.
Virginia Tech - 24
Alabama - 13
Other Random Football Notes:
So there are a couple of things that have really gotten out of control that I think we, as vigilant and responsible citizens, should try and address.
1. Texting and Driving - This makes people who are talking on their cell phones look like expert stunt drivers. For those of you who insist on doing this non-stop while you drive, let me just break some very unfortunate news to you - there is nothing going on in your life that is so important that you have to respond to a f'ng text while driving 65 mph down mopac. Oh wait, I'm sorry, I meant driving 35 mph down mopac. Your friend's blind date last night, your tennis lesson appointment at the club, your new dress - none of this sh*t is important. Put your phone down and drive. Or, at least call them. There are places where it's hard to call someone for obvious reasons (concert, sporting event, etc.) and a text will serve you right. But driving is the one, guaranteed instance where a text is the absolute last thing you should do.
I know there's legislation in the works to address this, but let's be really candid about this because I have an idea that would kill two birds with one stone. Fine those that are found texting and driving $1,000 for each offense. If you get 5 in a year, your fine goes up to $2500. Two things happen - first, after about 3 months of this, people will stop texting and driving. Second, this will bring in a whole sh*t-load of revenue to counties, cities, states, whatever.
2. Facebook-ing - I'm pretty sure that there is a large contingency of people out there who are, literally, in front of their facebook acct (whether by computer or phone) 14 out of the 17 waking hours in a day. I'm not kidding. When I read the stuff that gets posted on there it makes me wonder about people. "Just got a taste of cilantro in my salad. Mmmmm.", "I need to exercise more", "waiting on repair guy to fix my washer. hope it's not expensive!". Is this necessary? I've got a facebook account, but spend next to no time on it. I never think about it to be honest. Of course with our fantasy football league being on facebook, I'm sure I'll be on it more, but it never occurs to me to put stuff like that on there. "Oops, going to take a sh*t and then it's back to work". No one needs that level of detail of mine or anyone else's day.
3. Swine Flu - Finally, the dreaded swine flu. Listen media people, you can throw whatever stat you want to up on your web sites and tv screens, but the fact remains that this thing still has only scratched the surface of the numbers that the "regular flu" affects each year. Secondly, haven't we determined that in terms of severity/danger, this is really no different than the regular flu? Yes...we have. So, that's enough everyone.
That's what I got everyone - enjoy the games this weekend.
I must admit that I didn't start to get that tingly sensation about football season until Monday of this week. I was starting to worry a little bit that I was becoming numb to it, but fear not, the tingling is in full force. (not like that)
Believe it or not folks, there are actually a good slew of games on this weekend - and because it's the usual Labor Day weekend kickoff, we get A LOT of games spanning from Thursday to Monday night. Such as...
Louisiana-Monroe at Texas:
What do you want me to say? Blah blah blah blah blah....... 52-6.
Georgia at Oklahoma State:
This is actually a very big game for both these teams this year. Georgia has been it's usual good, but suspect self over the years and could gain some clout in the standings with a nice road win to kick things off. Oh yeah, they're also doing it without Stafford or Moreno - we'll certainly get a good look in the Georgia cupboard this weekend.
On the flip side, Okie State r-r-r-r-r-r-eally needs a big home win to start the year off on the right foot. They haven't been ranked this high, this early in like 20+ years so they can't lay an egg now....can they? You bet they can. Here's how the season's first game week went for the Cowboys - their starting tight end leaves the team for personal reasons (shortly after being slapped with a restraining order against him by his girlfriend), and one of their starting senior DBs was arrested for driving with a suspended license, and now it's believed that one of the starting senior LBs has sustained a potentially season-ending knee injury. Good luck with all of that. I mentioned this in my last post (Cowboys being overrated), but this could very well be a 7-5 year for the Cowboys. Of course this is also the kind of team that would lose to Iowa State, the Aggies, Grambling State and then go into Norman the last weekend of the year and beat the Sooners. That's Gundy for you.
Nevertheless, Georgia is bringing in a fairly young and inexperienced team (especially skill positions) and that could certainly be a big factor. Even with all of the aforementioned issues for Okie State, they still have the dreaded offensive trio of Robinson/Hunter/Bryant and that's worth A LOT. I think this is a tough-fought game and I'm taking the home team and that 3-headed monster. Barely. But just so I can ride the fence on this game a little bit - if Georgia pulls out the win I will guarantee you it will be because of coaching snafus on Oklahoma State's side.
Oklahoma State - 31
Georgia - 27
BYU at Oklahoma:
This is a good game for OU - there's a little luck that they've been on a high note the last few years, but a good game nonetheless. Unfortunately this is going to lose some of it's intrigue simply because in addition to some lost talent, BYU has a rash of bad-luck injuries on the defensive side of the ball. I think OU's offense will find the holes pretty quick. Both offenses will be able to put some points on the board so should be fun.
Will be interesting to see what kind of pressure, if any, the Cougars can get on Bradford with that new offensive line. Given the aforementioned injuries I would guess this would be a very good tune up game for that offensive line to work out the kinks - I think it's the following week that they visit what's sure to be a very fast Miami team.
Oklahoma - 41
BYU - 24
Alabama at Va Tech:
This is the game of weekend in my book - I'm very interested to see what both of these teams will be able to do. The Hokies have a good, tough looking team coming into the year - unfortunately, however, they will be going without the services of their starting RB who's out for the year. They do have an experienced offensive line coming in and I've read that just about anyone can run behind those guys so we'll see.
The Crimson Tide will be replacing a whole slew of offensive players and I'll be honest, I have no clue how they're going to score points this year. Defensively, I think they've got some decent players coming back led by an all-world nose tackle, but what they really have going for them is Nick Saban. The dude knows how to coach and knows how to prepare his team. I think this game is in Atlanta so it's a neutral site which should make for an interesting affair. I'm going Virginia Tech in this one, pretty big too. I think they come out of a very tough ACC this year and could find themselves in the right place at the right time should the right teams stumble at the right time. We'll see.
Virginia Tech - 24
Alabama - 13
Other Random Football Notes:
- Here are two things that I was reminded/educated on - when Dan Marino was drafted out of college, he was the 27th pick. Joe Montana was a third round pick. That just seems crazy to me.
- Thank Heavens - no new bowl games this year!!!
- Couple of serious points on the horns. First, I am thrilled to see that we have a bona fide, number one running back in Vondrell McGee. Of course Fozzy's injury helped to lock this one, but it's good nonetheless. I'd like to see him get 20+ carries this weekend as I think he'll run through this defense like sh*t through a goose. Second, I'm anxious to see the special teams. This has always been an area of concern, but is often times masked by the explosive offense and defense so I'd like to see some good coverage when we're kicking - I'll be looking at that.
- Looking for a Tech Preview? Who isn't? http://fannation.com/blogs/post/437059
- Alright - here's my take on the Michigan and Rich Rodriguez issue. First and foremost, I don't proclaim to be a big Rich Rod fan at all. I don't particularly like him and I don't particularly dislike him. I do think he's a good coach, but I wouldn't say I'm a fan of his. With that said, what's going on in Michigan is nothing more than witch hunt to get this guy removed. I think it's been pretty clear from day 1 that a lot of players and alum have not taken kindly to him coming in and doing whatever the hell it is he did. If Michigan boosters and donors wanted someone to come in and run things like Lloyd Carr did, they probably shouldn't have gone out and paid a ton of money to one of the hot, young coaches in the country who, by the way, specializes in a scheme that is the exact antithesis of what you know and love. So shame on you idiots for that. But back to the "excessive practices" - I've read/heard this countless times over the years, and you can even read this in Pat Forde's Forde Yard Dash Tuesday column on espn.com, but NO ONE abides by the rules around practice hours per week and coaches viewing voluntary workouts. Doesn't make it right, but let's not pretend like he's giving out cars to these players. For these kids to take this to the media (and for some of them, to involve their parents....really? your parents? how old are you?) tells me that these kids are spoiled brats. Guess what, you were 3-9 last year - you were beyond awful. You SHOULD be practicing as many hours as you possibly can!! At the end of the day, I think Rich Rod's tenure is limited to 2 more years, tops. And that's fine, I could care less one way or another, but right now I've got a pretty negative view of the Michigan program, it's players (some of them I should say), and it's alum/boosters.
- With all of that said, did Rodriguez really cry in the press conference? My Lord, what the hell is going on up in Ann Arbor these days? That place has gone nuts.
- I really want Miami/FSU to be a good game on Monday night, but my hopes are not too high right now.
- I gotta say, Brett Favre looked like....Brett Favre in Monday night's match up with the Texans. Vikings will have a high-flying offense and as Percy Harvin starts to get more comfortable in the receiver spot (he was never a true, bona fide receiver at Florida), they'll be really tough to stop.
- Quick MLB note to slip in here - I don't know if anyone will beat the yankees for the rest of the year.
- Seems OU Tight End Jermaine Gresham has sustained a knee injury that will sideline him for the BYU game and possibly longer. That could be a H-U-G-E blow to the Sooners as this guy is the one key rock for Bradford.
- One quick preview/note - as you know (if you read this at all), I'm doing my first fantasy football league this year and so to keep it interesting for me, I'm going to do a weekly diary of my strategy and picks. Of course some might say this is dumb as my opponents could use it against me. Well, I'm pretty sure that with the douche bags I'm playing with, they wouldn't figure out how to use it against me so I think I'm safe.
So there are a couple of things that have really gotten out of control that I think we, as vigilant and responsible citizens, should try and address.
1. Texting and Driving - This makes people who are talking on their cell phones look like expert stunt drivers. For those of you who insist on doing this non-stop while you drive, let me just break some very unfortunate news to you - there is nothing going on in your life that is so important that you have to respond to a f'ng text while driving 65 mph down mopac. Oh wait, I'm sorry, I meant driving 35 mph down mopac. Your friend's blind date last night, your tennis lesson appointment at the club, your new dress - none of this sh*t is important. Put your phone down and drive. Or, at least call them. There are places where it's hard to call someone for obvious reasons (concert, sporting event, etc.) and a text will serve you right. But driving is the one, guaranteed instance where a text is the absolute last thing you should do.
I know there's legislation in the works to address this, but let's be really candid about this because I have an idea that would kill two birds with one stone. Fine those that are found texting and driving $1,000 for each offense. If you get 5 in a year, your fine goes up to $2500. Two things happen - first, after about 3 months of this, people will stop texting and driving. Second, this will bring in a whole sh*t-load of revenue to counties, cities, states, whatever.
2. Facebook-ing - I'm pretty sure that there is a large contingency of people out there who are, literally, in front of their facebook acct (whether by computer or phone) 14 out of the 17 waking hours in a day. I'm not kidding. When I read the stuff that gets posted on there it makes me wonder about people. "Just got a taste of cilantro in my salad. Mmmmm.", "I need to exercise more", "waiting on repair guy to fix my washer. hope it's not expensive!". Is this necessary? I've got a facebook account, but spend next to no time on it. I never think about it to be honest. Of course with our fantasy football league being on facebook, I'm sure I'll be on it more, but it never occurs to me to put stuff like that on there. "Oops, going to take a sh*t and then it's back to work". No one needs that level of detail of mine or anyone else's day.
3. Swine Flu - Finally, the dreaded swine flu. Listen media people, you can throw whatever stat you want to up on your web sites and tv screens, but the fact remains that this thing still has only scratched the surface of the numbers that the "regular flu" affects each year. Secondly, haven't we determined that in terms of severity/danger, this is really no different than the regular flu? Yes...we have. So, that's enough everyone.
That's what I got everyone - enjoy the games this weekend.
posted by The Bearden Wonder at 2:17 PM
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