Great Moment in Boston Sports.

A ton of Boston sports related things happened on this date or yesterday.

- I did not see this 

- Missed their loss on Thursday night but the players were obviously raised right.

- Saw this game. Also remember that Mike Lowell was a "salary dump" for the Marlins and thrown into the trade that netted Boston Josh Beckett.

- An emotional night for Boston College Hockey,

- I remember watching this game too.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share,

- Tucker Carlson Episode 70 with Russell Brand.

- The rise of techno-authoritarianism.

- Jeff Hafley leaves BC football for the Packers. College ball has become more about raising money than about football.

- Morgan Housel with A Few Thoughts on Spending Money

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Muhammad Ali and Andre the Giant meet and compare hand sizes. It makes you wonder if anyone could have stood up to Andre in the boxing ring. Just one solid blow from his hands would have ended most fights.

- Cool pool trick shots

- Formula E racing looks cool but not hearing the roar of the engine seems strange. Also not sure if I like the idea of having to switch cars when the batteries run low.

- Heh heh - epilepsy my cock

- Cool - soft robotic exosuits - faster please!

- Hannah Storm - what does the NFL stand for?

- The men with the red bandannas beat the USC Trojans last night. They "out-desired them."

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Anything funnier than sending an oblivious friend into Dunking Donuts for a large Blumpkin Spice? If he asks just tell him its half pumpkin and half blueberry... Heh heh - very funny play-by-play of a car accident... Con Brio with Cheese would be a nice name for a high end pizza bar... A dark horse Heisman candidate is Boston College's Andre Williams who is the leading rusher in the nation. Remember when running backs used to win this award?... Confession - I have never seen the movie A Christmas Story. No plans to either... Rock the vote! Obamacare forcing some universities to drop health care plans for students... I still find it amusing that something called the Beef O'Brady's Bowl actually exists... Speaking of Obamacare - the Emperor's New Clothes... Seriously - besides the extra $.20 per pound cost is there any difference between regular bananas and organic bananas... Wow! Wheeler Park is so beautiful... Who knew? Pitcher Chris Young who just signed with the Nationals is represented by the law firm of Williams & Connolly. The same firm that was started by former Orioles and Redskins owner Edward Bennett Williams. Interesting...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Nobody lost their healthcare when Nixon lied about Watergate. Liberals love when you tell them that... 10 things to know about Thor... I'm nostalgic when it comes to Blockbuster Video. Every couple in my age group had a Blockbuster card. And every couple argued about what movie to rent because the new releases were all out and all couples then argued about whose fault it was the the movie you didn't end up watching wasn't returned on time... Interesting - the Will Farrell Chrysler ads for the Dodge Durango are very successful... So will the team theme for the 2014 Red Sox be "Boston Stronger"?... Beautiful photo - eclipse over New York... While nobody was paying attention Boston College's football team is on the verge of being Bowl eligible at 5-4... I'm waiting for the Bad Lip Reading version of the Jay Glazer / Richie Incognito. Should be much more watchable than the original...

NCAA Picks of the Day

Here's who I like in today's NCAA football action:

- Alabama -9 over Texas A&M. This could be a close game but if given the chance Nick Saban will put down the hammer on A&M. I think the Tide wins by 2 TD's.

-  South Carolina -13.5 over Vandy. As long as this stays at less than 14 points I like this game. Spurrier seems good at running up the score after losses.

I also like BC getting +15 against USC. This may because I'm a BC fan but you may want to look at BC as a team to tease or bet outright.

EDIT: MY PICKS SUCK!

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Saturday will feature the last Notre Dame / BC matchup in football for some time. BC has done very good in the series to have a 9-9 mark against the "powerhouse" Fighting Irish. The Eagles have won the last 6 matchups. The unspoken reason why this series is coming to an end is because the Boston College fans are obnoxious when it comes to Notre Dame. There is simply no couth on the BC side of this "rivalry". You're better off wearing Red Sox gear head to foot at Yankee Stadium than simply wearing a Notre Dame cap at a BC home game against the Irish. The line in this game is ND -7.5 but I wouldn't touch this one (if I was to pick it my heart would be with BC but my head would say ND)... Girls in bikinis doing hula hoop. Yeah baby!... Georgia Tech beat highly touted Virginia Tech by 5 points last week yet the line against Virginia is just GT -5.5 points? This looks like a gimme. Am I missing something? Is this a trap?... On this date in 1850 Worcester was host to the first National Women's Rights Convention. That put Worcester on the forefront of the woman's suffrage movement. Seeing how Worcester was also the birthplace of the birth control pill - it can be argued that Worcester was one of the most important cities in terms of woman's rights in the entire US (throwing this in to balance off the girls in bikini's doing hula hoop)... Hard to believe but both the iPod and ESPN's Pardon the Interruption have been around for 8 years now... I wonder why the Wake Forrest / Navy game is off the board? Navy was an early 3-point favorite... Happy 47th birthday to Doug Flutie. I have no idea why Flutie is not still with ESPN doing college football. He is way more knowledgeable than dickhead Jesse Palmer. Can someone explain this to me? Doug Flutie is to Larry Bird what Jesse Palmer is to Michael Smith.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Reggie Bush and Kim Kardashian are done. Maybe Barack Obama should invite Bush and Kardashian to the White House for a beer to help work out their differences?... Boston College's football team was picked to finish last in the ACC. I put $20 on them anyway since it would return $1200 if they turned all Cinderella on us. What's $20 compared to the bragging rights I'd win with that bet?... Excellent analysis of the Ryan Garko trade from the Indians to the Giants... This quote is so spot on: "I think the Obama administration has been spending political capital at roughly the same rate the federal government spends money. Eventually, it runs out," Paul Light professor at New York University. A similar sentiment can be made for Obama's TV appearances. Use them up all at once and they lose effectiveness. Spread them out and people will pay attention. Obama has been on TV more often than Billy Mays but without Mays' eloquence... Very good look at A's GM Billy Beane by ESPN's Howard Bryant... Maybe Wilpon and the Mets took so long to fire Tony Bernazard because Bernazard was the one who got Wilpon into Amway sales and Wilpon was afraid that it would affect his pyramid?...

BC - 8-0? Are You Kidding Me?

Wow! Just wow!

BC beat Virginia Tech 14-10 last night will all of BC's scoring coming in the last 2 minutes of the game including the winning TD with 11 second left to play. BC gave complete new meaning to "the 2-minute drill." They had 2 minutes and they drilled Virginia Tech.

You know people will be saying that BC is over-rated and over-ranked but they are undefeated. LSU has a loss and easily could have had 2 more but people still want to pop them over BC in the polls.

The schedule favors BC too. Because last night was a Thursday night game - they now have an extra 2 days to prepare for Florida State. The next game is at Maryland who has already been beaten twice at home and who may be a 4-loss team by the time BC meets up with them (Maryland plays Clemson this week and North Carolina after that). Clemson will be a tough game at Death Valley. The last game comes against a Miami team that is very beatable this year.

I think there is a very good chance that BC will play Virginia Tech once again in the ACC Championship game. The Hokies won't have home field or a driving rain to help them in that rematch.

Boston College Football

Matt Ryan and the Boston College Eagles beat Notre Dame 27-14 yesterday to run their record to 7-0 on the season (and once again let me point out that I was probably the only person to predict a 7-0 start in writing). Ryan was good but not great completing 65% of his passes (32-49) for 291 yards, 2 TD's and 1 INT.

With #1 LSU and #2 California both losing - the #4 Eagles can expect to move up in the polls. My guess is that they move to #3 with Ohio State taking the #1 spot and Southern Florida jumping over BC on the strength of their drubbing of Central Florida yesterday.

Many people still aren't comfortable with the idea of BC ranked so high (like ESPN's Mark May). I understand that mindset because to many people BC is one of those teams that will look good on paper but then fold in the big game. Yesterday's performance against the Fighting Irish helps illustrate the problem. BC missed an extra point and an easily makable field goal. The score should have been at least 31-14. Then you add in the fact that half Notre Dame's points came off a BC turnover and some people will think "BC would never get away with that stuff against a top team." To an extent these people are right. I'm no fan of running up the score for the sake of scoring but when you completely dominate a game like yesterday (459 total yards for BC to just 222 for ND) then that should be reflected on the scoreboard. All too often - that's not the case with Boston College.

BC's next game against Virginia Tech on the road will be its biggest test. If BC can win that game - then they can run the table and go undefeated. Who would have thought that at the beginning of the season? The BC players have to realize that their next game just may be for the right to play in the championship game. If they can elevate their game to that next level then they should be able to quiet those who aren't sold on them yet. In short - they have to prove it to themselves first.

College Football Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous college football thoughts and observations.

Once again the Michigan Wolverines were clubbed. This time Oregon whipped 'em 39-7. Last week Michigan was famously upset by Appalachian State. That loss dropped Michigan from 5th in the AP poll to out of the top 25. In fact if you look at the vote totals - Michigan was dropped out of the top 30 (they had 39 votes to place them in 32nd place). Last week the question following their loss was whether they would drop out of the top 25. This week the question is whether they will receive a single vote in the polls.... If you had West Virginia Tech and 86 points - you lost!.... I think Georgia coach Mark Richt lost the game yesterday for the Bulldogs. He thought too much. South Carolina is a team you can run on but instead of a steady diet of off-tackle and up the gut runs - Richt's offense called for 45 passes to just 31 runs. I know many of those passes came late in the game when Georgia was in desperation mode but if they had focused on the run in the first 3 quarters - they wouldn't have been in a desperate position. If Richt had stuck to a simple game plan instead of getting cute then Georgia would be 2-0 today.... How bad is Syracuse? Iowa beat them 35-0. The Orangemen may not get their first win until October 20th when Buffalo comes to the Carrier Dome. And judging by how Buffalo handled Temple 42-7 yesterday - I wouldn't put that game in the win column just yet. I'm pretty sure 1-AA UMass could beat Syracuse right now and even Holy Cross would be a close game... The real National Championship may just be October 6th when Florida visits LSU who looked great beating Virginia Tech. Two observations here - if LSU is as good as it looked last night then USC better put a king size whipping on Nebraska next week if they want to keep that top spot in the rankings. I'm sure that fact is not lost on Pete Carrol and his staff. USC should be a good pick next week. My second thought is that Virginia Tech is probably grateful to Michigan this week because the collapse of the Wolverine program is obscuring the fact that Virginia Tech really isn't that good right now. They just squeaked by East Carolina and got pummeled by LSU. They will probably win the next three weeks to continue the charade but to my eyes this isn't close to being an elite team...

Boston College Football

Looking at Boston College's schedule makes me start to wonder if BC could be going to a BCS bowl this year. The Eagles have a lot of things going for them. Jeff Jagodzinski comes back to the heights as the head coach after spending time as the Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator. It should not be lost on anyone that Coach Jags also spent time as an offensive line coach for the Packers and that pro experience should help the Eagles offensive line be one of the best - if not the best - in the ACC. BC is returning three starting offensive linemen and will help augment what is already returning with two highly touted prospects including 6'6" 260 pound Patrick Neumann of New Jersey.

Those linemen will help protect All-ACC quarterback Matt Ryan. The best line and the best QB in the ACC? That very well could be the story for Boston College.

Putting on my rose colored glasses for a minute - I can actually see the Boston College Eagles starting off the season 7-0 which should put them squarely in the Top 15 going into their October 25th game at Virginia Tech.

The Eagles start off the season against the 2006 ACC Champs Wake Forrest. I don't think I'm alone in thinking that last year the Eagles clearly had the better team against the Demon Deacons. I'm not saying the Eagles have the best team in the ACC but I am saying that they do match-up well against Wake Forrest. Last year BC lost because it was a road game, they got out-coached and they had a turnover bug. Things should be different this year.

The second game of the year is against NC State and ex-coach Tom O'Brien. Last year the Eagles lost to NC State mainly because their field goal kicker was awful. This year they have Steve Aponavicius back and on scholarship after being a feel-good walk-on story at the end of last year plus they signed the #1 kicker in the country, according to Rivals.com, in Billy Bennett out of San Diego. I don't think BC will lose to their ex-coach - especially at home.

The third game against Georgia Tech is the wild card game. You almost never know what you will get with Georgia Tech. Some experts are saying this will be a rebuilding year for the Yellowjackets while others are saying they will win the ACC. It just seems that you never know with Georgia Tech. If BC can win this big game on the road then a 7-0 start to the season will not only be possible - it will be likely.

The next three games are against Army, UMass and Bowling Green. These should all be wins for the BC Eagles. That brings them to their October 13th tilt against Notre Dame.

Notre Dame has a pretty brutal schedule for their first six games leading up to the game against BC. This includes 4 tough road games (Penn St, Michigan, Purdue and UCLA). On paper ND is in a rebuilding year while the Eagles are returning most of their key personnel from last year. I have to think BC has the edge in this game.

So that's a potential 7-0 start heading into the game with Virginia Tech. This is where I have to take off the rose colored glassed. The game is on the road against a team ranked in the top 10 in most polls.

Hey 7-1 would be a good start to the season!