1-1 Yesterday, not bad

Thanks to a great Missouri comeback. Today there are 3 more bowl games, but 1 has already started and I don't like it anyway. But I do have picks on the other 2 games, including my 2nd 5* of the bowl season. I will only have 3 more 5 stars, and so far I am 0-1, so the pressure is on.

5* Iowa St +2 Over TCU - This is the same old song and dance that we have seen in other games such as Kansas and BC. There is a lot more talent and skill on one side over the other. I will also take Coach McCarney in this one, and Iowa St goes on to a fairly easy win, by at least a TD.

1* Tulsa\Fresno UNDER 62 - Two solid offenses, but two very good defenses team up in this game. Tulsa has been great away from home this year, and Fresno is probably disappointed in playing Tulsa. These two teams played each other every year in the WAC, so Fresno may take them lightly. I'm close to a Tulsa lean because of this, but Fresno has too much talent. Anyway, the defenses should rule in this game, giving us an Under lean.

Good Luck! More by Monday morning. By the way, I also love the Giants-Raiders Over 40` today. The Giants should put up 30 on their own, so the Raiders just need to score a couple TD's to cover the Over.

2 more good picks last night

That one puts me at 4-2 so far. That Utah pick ended up being an easy one, as they won by 28. Oklahoma looked like it was going to be easy until late, and they needed an interception to hold off Oregon with 30 seconds. It's nice picking 2 underdogs and then having both of them win straight up! Today there are 4 games, and I don't love any of them, though I do have 2 picks for today...

2* Minnesota -6 Over Virginia - Virginia is a mess right now. They lost 3 of their coaches to other jobs, and have struggled mightily late in the year. They have some trouble stopping the run, and that will mean doom against the #1 rush offense in the country, who incidentally has the best offensive line in the country. I see Minnesota controlling the ball in this game, and take a close game into half time, but by the late 3rd quarter will wear down the Virginia defense and wins this game handily.

1* Missouri Over South Carolina - All the hype is on Spurrier in this game. But Brad Smith is the player with all the talent. He will be the best player on the field in this game, and will show it. The one worry is the Missouri defense, but I think they keep Mizzou in the game, and Brad Smith wins this in his final game.

There are others that I like today, but won't be rated as picks for me - I also like the Overs in the Minnesota (59) and Northwestern (74`) games, along with the Under in the LSU game (41).

Good Luck, and many more picks to come!

Make the Alamo Bowl a BCS game!

Wow, what a win last night for the Huskers. Zac Taylor is a stud, he took so many hits and came right back at them. There was quite a scare at the end, but that's all it was. I just wish I would have used a pick on Nebraska! But BC covered as well, so that puts me at 2-2.

Tonight there are 2 games. First is the Emerald Bowl with Georgia Tech against Utah, the other is the Holiday Bowl, featuring Oregon against Oklahoma. I will use picks on both of them...

3* - Utah +8 Over Georgia Tech - Georgia Tech has been up and down all season long, pretty much like they always have been under Gailey. Utah is a very deceiving 6-5 on the season. These teams are very close talent-wise, and I like the underedog in a game with teams of equal talent, so I'll pick a very close game with Utah winning straight up.

2* - Oklahoma +3 Over Oregon - The last time Oregon got screwed out of a bowl they came out and killed Colorado. This time they get screwed out of a BCS, but won't have the same results. That Oregon team was far better than this one. Oklahoma started the season slowly because of Adrian Petersen's injury, but he is now full strength and QB Bomar has come on strong. Oklahoma is far more talented, especially on defense, should not be an underdog, and I think Oklahoma wins this one by 2 TD's or more. One concern would be Oklahoma playing in such a low bowl after playing so many national championship games of late, but they have a lot to prove in this game after the bowl game last year.

Pick for today and HUSKER GAME!

Let's start with some venting from the other night, Christmas Eve. Nevada was favored by 3 over UCF. Nevada went up 10 with about 3 minutes remaining. UCF goes down field, gets stopped, then kicks a long field goal to cut the lead to 7. I'm thinking all is well, just recover the onside, and the cover is in. Nope. UCF recovers, goes down field, ties the game with a TD. I'm still thinking it's all right, someone is going to win by at least 3, more than likely. So immediately Nevada scores a TD. UCF recovers quickly, scoring on 2 plays. But no problem, make the extra point, go to OT 2. Nope. One of the best kickers in the country for UCF misses the damn extra point, and my 5* goes out the window. Some picks are bad picks and some picks are good. UTEP the other night was a horrible pick. But Nevada was the correct pick and they did not cover, which is why they call it gambling! This bullshit loss puts me at 1-2 on the bowl season.

Anyway, on to tonight's pick. We'll get to the Huskers last. My pick for tonight comes from Boise St vs Boston College in the MPC Computers Bowl:

3* BC -1` Over Boise - This game is played on Boise's home blue ugly field, so there will be a serious home field advantage. One problem for Boise is they just don't have the "horses" to get the job done. BC is much more talented, much more physical, and should dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. In addition the weather is going to be nasty, giving BC an even bigger advantage because they are such a physical football team. There will be no letdown for BC playing in such a weak bowl, as they went into a weak bowl a couple of years ago and simply rolled a less talented team in the Motor City Bowl. Same thing here, I'll take talent and physical ability from a huge conference over a less talented team from a small conference almost every time. BC by 10.

Now to the Alamo Bowl for the Nebraska - Michigan showdown. The spread opened at around 14, but is down to 10, so I am not picking the game, though I do love the Huskers plus the points. In fact I think Nebraska will feed off the momentum of that Colorado blowout, the offesne will come out with a nice flow, getting off to a fast start, and will win by 3. Remember during the season that slow starts killed NU in most of the games, but they fought back every time. The games where they did not start slow all turned out to be victories, and I expect the same here. GO BIG RED!

That was a little better

But it was a close one last night. BYU lost by 7, and so barely covered the game fur me. That puts me at 1-1 so far on the bowl season. Hopefully we can continue. I am going to post games for both today (12/23) and Christmas Eve. I will probably have only 1-3 5*'s during the bowl season, and it happens Christmas Eve. Here we go...

Fort Worth Bowl
1* Kansas -3 Over Houston - This is practically a home game for Houston, but it does not matter in this one, as it won't be much of an advantage. Houston is a flashier team, but KU gets the job done with defense and special teams, which will dominate this Houston team physically, winning by at least a TD.

Hawaii Bowl
5* Nevada -2` Over UCF - Nevada has been playing so well over the last few weeks, and UCF has begun to show some of its flaws after an 0-11 season of 2004. Nevada should be able to move the ball at will, and will win this game by at least 2 TD's.

Sorry about that pick last night

It happens, but really that was a horrible pick. Tonight hopefully we can turn it around. Navy plays Colorado St, and I really don't like that game. The game I do like is BYU vs. Cal in the Las Vegas Bowl...

2* BYU +8 Over Cal - The Vegas Bowl is sold out for the first time ever. It isn't sold out because of Vegas fans or Cal fans - they are BYU fans making the trip. So this should be a home field type atmosphere, and BYU has already played there this year, putting up 55 points at UNLV. BYU has an outstanding, balanced offense that will be tough to stop. Cal is disappointed to be there, and still don't have a QB that can play, so I'll take those 8 points, and pick an outright win for BYU.

Bowl Picks

Let the Bowl picks begin! I will post the day of the games if I like them. Last night Arkansas St played So Miss, and I kind of liked Ark St, but not enough to take it, especially after the spread went down to 14. My picks will have a rating of between 1 and 5 stars, 5 being highest. Tonight Toledo is favored by 2` over UTEP. I like the underdog in this game, UTEP. This is the FIRST time UTEP has been an underdog this season! I think this should be a well played game for UTEP, who has been bothered by injuries but are much healthier now after a late season slide. UTEP gets some good line value here, and wins by 2 TD's.

4* UTEP +2` Over Toledo

Good Luck!

NFL Picks Week 14

Last week was yet another winning week, going 3-2. I believe I've only had one or two losing weeks all year on this board. 55% is the number that professional handicappers need to hit, and I'll need to compile my numbers, but I only had one or two weeks less than that, so I hope you stuck with my picks. No college games is brutal, but I have some NFL games I really like, so here they are...

1 Titans Over 44 - The Titans defense has been terrible all year, as have the Texans, and I expect a serious shootout here. This one will go over before the 4th quarter.

2 Vikings -7 Over Rams - The Rams have a rookie QB in his first road start, up against a very underrated defense that is the reason the Vikings are one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now. St Louis can't stop anyone, and definitely won't stop the Vikes at home, and the Vikings win this one by at least 2 TD's.

3 Panthers -5` Over Bucs - The Bucs are as overrated a team as it gets, and have a banged up offensive line and a very weak QB, going up against a great defense that is finally healthy, and as a result highly undervalued, and the Bucs won't score more than 10 points, causing an easy cover for the Panthers.

4 Chargers Over 44` - Simply put the Chargers have one of the best offenses in the league, especially at home. I expect the Chargers to come within a TD or 10 points of the over themselves, so if the Dolphins score 10 or more, which they will, this over is in.

5 Patriots Under 36 - This will be a rough weather situation with a hapless Bills offense going against a Pats defense that is starting to play better. I see the Pats winning this game 17-10, meaning this under comes in easily.

Good Luck!!! Go Chiefs!!!

War On Christmas and a Happy Friday!

It's Friday, everyone. As I said in a rare post yesterday, today's funnies would cover the "War On Christmas" that some "journalists" are creating. They (OK, Bill O'Reilly mostly) are claiming that Liberals are trying to rid the country of Christmas but using Holiday instead of Christmas. What a bunch of shit. Below you will find a lot of links, all to Media Matters, most of which has both text and video - I highly suggest watching the video of all of it to get the full effect. Here we go!!!

First I will link you to a page on Media Matters that deals with all items related to this "War on Christmas". Below I will point out the highlights of this page.

We'll start in the middle. Bill O'Reilly swept Keith Olberman's Countdown of Worse, Worser, and Worst person in the world. You'll see that O'Reilly attacks people that call it "Holidays" instead of "Christmas", yet sells his products under the description of "Holidays" himself! They have since changed the name, but this proves O'Reilly's hypocrisy.

But here is where it started with O'Reilly, of course the icon of all Christians (note sarcasm, if you can't figure that out), saying that the phrases "Season's Greetings" and "Happy Holidays" absolutely offends Christians, and he knows it for a fact. Are there any practicing Christians reading this? Are you offended?

O'Reilly went on to attack, of all things, the Daily Show. He called Comedy Central "Secular Central", specifically Jon Stewart's Daily Show. O'Reilly went on to play a clip that aired "last night", although the clip aired a year ago!

Of course the fantastic Daily Show was quick with a response(for some reason, the video is at the bottom of the page, so scroll all the way down to see it). The Daily Show responded with the excerpt below:

"To demonstrate O'Reilly's deception, Stewart invited Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee, who was featured in the December 2004 segment O'Reilly excerpted, onto the show. Bee, who is pregnant, and according to a November 13 New York Times article (subscription only), is due in January, compared her current appearance with the one shown in the clip, pronouncing it "unmistakable" that the clip was in fact "from last December". She cited as evidence "[m]y highlights." Bee then excused herself, saying "my water just broke."

Following Bee's departure from the stage, Stewart stated satirically: "[A]pparently, we liberal secular fags here at Comedy Central ... have fired a devastating year-old six-second-long joke that doesn't barely even make any sense to us anymore across the bow of Christianity."

Well, that's it. Hope everyone enjoys this one. Have a great Friday. If you are looking for football picks, there are no college games yet, just NFL. My NFL picks will be out here by Sunday morning at the latest. Have a great weekend!

Does anyone really like Ann Coulter?

She is disgusting, and terrible, and an absolute joke. She thinks she is the smartest person in the world. I won't say she isn't smart, but she's definitely not as smart as she thinks she is. Justin Kozisek thinks she's the devil, and I tend to agree. Apparently students at UConn agree as well. There were many protestors for a speech she was giving and as a result she told them that "You're stupider than I am". Yeah, real intelligent comment, Ann. Media Matters loves to pick out all of her insane rants. I highly suggest checking it out.

Tomorrow, we'll have some serious comedy, where people are being serious but it comes out sounding like a huge joke. I'm sure you've heard about this "War on Christmas" that conservatives are discussing. They are attacking liberals for trying to demolish Christmas. It will be a large post of Bill O'Reilly and the like making asses of them selves! I can't wait!

College Picks for Saturday, 12/3

Last week was a decent week, going 3-2. This is a short week in college football, and thus I have 2 NFL games in my top 5 for this week. Here they are...

1 Tulsa -1 Over UCF - This CUSA Championship game is being played at UCF's home field, however Tulsa is a road team, as they average over 100 ypg offense on the road. Tulsa is simply a better team, is better on the road (and as a result we get line value because the line assumes the home team has the advantage), so I love Tulsa.

2 SDSU +3 Over Hawaii - Another road team here, but it doesn't matter where SDSU plays. They were an underachieving team early on, but have really come on lately as I expected them to do. They win this one because of the huge edge on the defensive side of the ball, winning this one by at least 10.

3 Jags -3 Over Browns - My one worry here is the warm weather team going into cold Cleveland, but it doesn't worry me enough. It won't bother one of the best defenses in the league. The Browns have some QB issues right now, and that is a very bad thing going against such a great defense, and the Jags win by at least 2 TD's.

4 Army +6` Over Navy - In one of the biggest, most respected rivalries in college football, this one should be a good game. Navy has won the last few games against Army, but Army has been playing good football lately, and I expect this to be a hard fought battle with Navy winning but by less than the points.

5 Florida St +14` Over Virginia Tech - This one is being played on a neutral field in the first ever ACC Championship game. My big pick last week was Florida over Florida St and it came in easy, and as a result we get good line value. Even more line value comes from VA Tech's misleading win over North Carolina. I like FSU's defense, and were looking past a meaningless Florida game to this big one against VT, and FSU has a chance to turn around their season in this one game. With their backs against the wall, I love FSU.

Good Luck!!!

Oh yeah, I have a blog

I just never post to it. I did promise posting funny stuff on Fridays, but last Friday I didn't even think about it. Let's hit The Onion, which has become standard I guess. My favorite headlines this week are:

CIA Realizes It's Been Using Black Highlighters All These Years

Terrorist Has No Idea What To Do With All This Plutonium


And from the Sports section...

Nation's Cowboys Fans Deeply Nostalgic Following Michael Irvin's Latest Drug-Related Arrest

The college football season is winding down, but I will continue to make picks. I will have 5 picks for the weekend, which will be a combination of college and NFL, and I will post them tomorrow morning. As the bowl season kicks in, I will post on all bowl games that I like, and will have all those picks out there at least an hour before game time.

Everyone have a great weekend!