Tonight's College Football Game

 

I bet Ohio State to win the championship a long time ago but I'll be rooting for the Fighting Irish. Either way - I win.

Linky Links

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

- Chaplains are latest group to look into healing benefits of psychedelics.

- Paul Graham: Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule. Few years old but new to me.

- Dan Wetzel on the Ryan Day vs Lou Holtz feud. All teams eventually lose. This will not end well for Ryan Day.

- VDH on why the Left isn't finally happy. They're never happy.

College Football Power Rankings

Phil Steel has the updated college football Vegas Power Rankings up on his site. These would be the hypothetical point spreads between teams on a neutral field. Two things of interest jumped out at me:

• Ohio State would be an almost 10-point favorite over Michigan on a neutral field but this year that game is AT Ohio State.
• Boston College would be just a 2-point favorite over Buffalo but Holy Cross beat Buffalo at Buffalo this season. Does that mean a hypothetical BC/Holy Cross game this year would be a pick-em?

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

During his speech at the 1964 Democratic National Convention - LBJ never once mentioned Vietnam. Guessing the MSM of the day never pressed him on it either. The more things change the more they stay the same... Rudolph Diesel is a man who doesn't get enough credit for his contributions to the modern world... Funny how this works out but L. Ron Hubbard was able to create a cult while Charlie Sheen failed in his attempt. From the outside you'd think that "Tiger Blood" and "Winning!" would be more attractive than space aliens but go figure... Did McDonald's skip the Shamrock shake this year? Never saw any ads for it... Heh heh - "Oral Roberts has more wins over Ohio State than Jim Harbaugh." - Ross Tucker...

Linky Links

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

- Wow - the Obamas like Joe Biden but just not enough to donate any money to his campaign.

- The argument against more Federal stimulus spending. I've always felt that Federal stimulus funds are wildly inefficient.

- Interesting - Ohio State is leading the charge to have football this fall with other Big 10 colleges no matter what the league says.

- In a related story the University of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns are all cleared to play football. Ohio State (the best pro team in Ohio) is trying to join those still playing.  

- Ryan Holiday on 10 books that will blow your mind. Sadly I've only read one of the books on the list.

- San Francisco is racing NYC to see which city can have the biggest implosion.  

Linky Links

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

- The first video footage of a giant squid in US waters is recorded. As amazing as this creature is in so many ways - I have to admit that I'm slightly disappointed that a giant squid is just 12-feet long.

- Heh Heh

- Interesting profile of Ohio State strength and conditioning coach.

- Lincoln and the art of transformative leadership. (Long read)

- UConn leaving the ACC to return to the Big East. Move makes a lot of sense.

John Havlicek

Celtics legend John Havlicek has passed away at age 79 after a battle with Parkinson's.

I say Celtics legend but I easily could have said NBA legend as he was one of the top 20 players in league history (I would put him about equal to Kobe Bryant). I also could have said Ohio State legend as Hondo was perhaps the greatest athlete that school ever produced (he was drafted both by the Celtics and by the Cleveland Browns as a DB).

Havlicek won 8 NBA Championships (he was 8-0 in the Finals) and an NBA Finals MVP. He made 13 straight All-Star games, was All-NBA First Team four times and second team seven times. Havlicek could easily have played in today's NBA - how many players from the 60's and 70's could you say that about?

He was one of those rare athletes who played his entire career for one team and of whom you never heard a single negative thing said about. Think about it - have you ever heard a single bad thing about John Havlicek? He hustled and worked harder than any player (maybe ever) and was always a gentleman.

The Boston Celtics and the Havlicek family issued a statement on his passing.

Personally this is how I prefer to remember John Havlicek - chilling shirtless in Mexico with Dr. J (the two most popular and respected players from the 1970's).

John Havlicek "He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again."

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I agree with Ian O'Connor that the Bills basically replaced a 9-7 AFC East coach with a 4-12 AFC East coach. As Bill Parcells would say, "You are what your record says you are"... What me jihad?... True story - I only bet on Ohio State once this year. It was against Virginia Tech... Wow - map of the Internet in the US in 1969... There is a very good chance that Bill Belichick will lead the Patriots to another Super Bowl. Yet when the votes are counted for coach of the year - the award will go to another. Belichick so good that this type of year is just expected... I laughed way too hard at this...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

The 10 Biggest Comedy News Stories of 2011

America's Secret 1980s War With ... Sweden?

Interesting article on Erez Lieberman Aiden a pan-disciplinary scientist.

With contract up, Pats coordinator O'Brien could be on the move

Goon looks like a pretty funny movie - I'll see it

If you bet your favorite NFL team each week on the moneyline, here is what you'd be up or down on the year (w/ table)

Interesting look at Urban Myer and how he's had to change in order to coach again

Interesting look by Chris Jones on Jeff Loria and the recent Marlins moves

Tom O'Brien - Next Coach for Ohio State?

With the "resignation" of coach Jim Tressel - Ohio State is in turmoil. You can forget the talk about Urban Myer. There's no way he's going to a program that is bound to be hit with worse sanctions that what USC was just hit with. Luke Fickell? That makes a certain amount of sense but he has two major negatives against him - he has never been a 1-A head coach and he was part of the institution that exhibited such a lack of control in the first place.

I think in order for Ohio State to right this ship they will have to go outside the program and what better man for this job than Tom O'Brien?

O'Brien has been in this situation before. He took over at BC after a gambling scandal that rocked the program. O'Brien not only restored the pride in the program - he also turned it into a perennial Top 25 team that was bowl bound every season. In addition to making BC a program that routinely sent 1st round picks to the NFL - he also made sure BC was a program that graduated its players. He then took over a moribund NC State program and last year led them to a 9-4 record and a victory in a bowl game plus a final ranking in the Coaches and AP Top 25.

Keep in mind that O'Brien is a former Marine who is drill instructor tough. There may be no man in college football who can match him for integrity, toughness and success. With Ohio State under NCAA sanctions they will have to get used to the second tier of recruits - the kind of recruits O'Brien has shown he can win with at BC and NC State. On top of everything else - Tom O'Brien is from Ohio. He was born in Cincinnati.

I haven't heard or seen anyone mentioning Tom O'Brien to Ohio State - so I wanted to note it here so that you will remember where you read this sort of outside the box thinking first.

As an aside - someone hacked Tom O'Brien's Wikipedia page and added this little nugget:

According to many legitimate sources it was actually him O'Brien who saved the world from apocalypse and not Jesus, many people have also said that he once culled over 4,000 Iranian children.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Just saying but Richard Nixon saying "I am not a crook" became a punchline - so too will Jim Tressel saying "I am not a cheat"... A chart of which voice actor does which character on The Simpsons... The things you learn on the Internet (via Mental Floss): "In 1970, Portland fans voted to name their new NBA team the Pioneers. Since a local college was using that name, Trail Blazers was selected"... What marshmallow peeps do the other 364 days a year... I'm pretty sure that the girls on either side of the Most Interesting Man in the World in the Dos Equis beer commercials don't speak English (not that it really matters)... Fan offers Cam Newton $1 million to take lie detector test... Piers Morgan is reportedly down to just 265,000 viewers. I'm pretty sure that re-runs of Larry King could beat that... It has been 25 years to the day that the accident happened at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant causing the worst nuclear disaster in history...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thoughts I's share.

- I love photos of awesome libraries but this list is incomplete without the Library of Congress.

- If Jim Tressel keeps his job then Ohio State is devoid of integrity (yes I'm still bitter about how they dismissed Jim O'Brien)

- I would seriously love to live in this building just because it looks so cool

- 40 soldiers to a damn fine thing for a very sick little boy

- Awesome picture of the Sun

- Best opening for any episode of The Wire

- "Since 2006, the NCAA has sanctioned 27 schools for bylaw 10.1 ... Of the 12 coaches involved, only one kept his job."

- I remember the day I came out as Welsh

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The Michael Smith podcast may be the best one Bill Simmons has ever done. MUST listening for Celtics or NBA fans. Great insight into the league and the tail-end of the original Big 3 era in Boston... Sam Simon makes a good point - as out of control as Charlie Sheen has been as an actor he still will never top the antics of John Wilkes Booth... I wonder if Tim McCarver's two-year extension is just a holding pattern for FOX waiting for Derek Jeter to retire?... Phil Collins retired because Cincinnati would not trade his concert dates to a more competitive city... Heh heh - speaking of Bill Simmons... Never noticed this before but Ray McKinnon who was Reverend Smith in Deadwood also plays Coach Cotton in The Blind Side... According Yahoo! Sports Jim Tressel knew of Pryor's memorabilia sale in April 2010, which would be a possible major NCAA violation. As an aside - I can't help but wonder just for perspective what were the costs of the Federal, Ohio St and NCAA investigations vs the total amount of the $7,500 players received for selling some of the things they owned. The NCAA makes these bizarre scenarios possible through their rules. How strange will it be if a Championship winning coach is fired because of a tattoo artist?... I get sick of people who mention that David Duke ran for office as a Republican. How come they never mention that Fred Phelps (the Westboro Baptist Church uber douchebag) ran for office as a Democrat?... The TV ads for Bob Seger's Boston appearance show clips of him from the 80's and 90's ignoring fact that he now looks like a modern Burl Ives... Call me immature but every time I see "Jeter in the 2-hole" I have to laugh...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Sweden in One Photograph: A Moose Jumping over a Volvo

- Kennedys miniseries pulled From History Channel because of political pressure. Which I guess is OK because The History Channel ceased being about history long time ago.

- List of common misconceptions - missing from the list is the misconception that Derek Jeter is a Gold Glove caliber fielder

- Cool betting story - Exhibit A on why it is so tough to bet the NBA

- Very difficult not to smile when watching this. Good for her.

- TCU Billboards Near Ohio State Are The Best Comeback. Somebody with money has a good sense of humor.

- Interesting closer look at Tom Brady's stats and the Patriots in general.

- Supplies!

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

If you enjoy putting the occasional wager on football games - yesterday was a very interesting day. The day started off with Army pulling the upset over SMU in a game where Army was a better than touchdown underdog. Syracuse then beats Kansas State by 2 points on a last second crap excessive celebration call which had some people suggesting the fix was in (as an aside - even if there was no penalty there is no guaranty that K-State scores the 2 point conversion to force OT). North Carolina then beats Tennessee in a wild finish / meltdown depending on your point of view. If you had Tennessee then you thought the game was won only to see it snatched away literally at the last second. Finally Washington which was a 14-point underdog upsets Nebraska in a start to finish beatdown. Wild, wild day... 50 Funniest Headlines Of 2010... OK I'll say it! The 5 suspended Ohio State players have pledged to return next season - what is to keep them from changing their minds after they play the bowl game? Nothing - nothing at all... World's Happiest Penguin... After 18-years of marriage John Cougar Mellencamp is getting divorced from his 41-year old wife. So does that mean he gets to stay a Mellencamp and she becomes a Cougar?... To borrow a joke from the Baseball Crank - just hours from now, we hear Dick Clark say that magic word..."BRAINS!!!"...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The biggest upset on Saturday was 14 point favorite Ohio State being pasted by Purdue. The biggest upset Sunday was 14 point favorite Philadelphia being beat by Oakland. I had Ohio State and Philly. How was your weekend?... This was awesome.... I agree with the people who compare Peyton Manning and his colts to Greg Maddux and his Atlanta Braves. Both were not the best athletes but who used their heads to become perhaps the premiere players at their positions. Yet even though their respective teams were in the playoffs every year - each player only managed one championship ring... I predict we will see a 3 interception performance out of Brett Favre within the next 3 games... I think Mike Shanahan was over-rated as a pro coach. I think the success Josh McDaniels is having may be emphasizing that point. That's why I think the perfect job for Shanahan would be to take over the University of Colorado program.

College Football Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous college football thoughts and observations.

Week three in college football always seems to bring some big surprises and this year was no exception. The biggest surprise was of course USC getting beat by Washington. This was the 4th year in a row that USC was beaten by an unranked team. Two things about this game - first I hope that blame is not put solely on the shoulders of QB Aaron Corp. If freshman QB Matt Barkley comes back and leads USC to wins the rest of the way then Corp will be a target but it will be unfair. The whole team lost yesterday - not just the QB. Secondly, you have to wonder how this will effect Ohio State. It will be tough for voters to rank Ohio State ahead of USC for the rest of the way enabling maybe some lesser talented one-loss teams to leapfrog the Buckeyes in the rankings... Maybe the biggest winner of the weekend was Miami. First they dismantle 14th ranked Georgia Tech and then a team they beat - Florida State - dismantled number 7 BYU. Number 20 Miami will be sure to jump a number of spots in the rankings after the results of the past few days but the question is how many? The BYU loss causes a rankings conundrum. Oklahoma lost to BYU and is ranked 12th. Logic would seem to dictate that Miami be ranked higher with the thinking of Miami beat FSU, FSU beat BYU and BYU beat Oklahoma. But since when did logic and the NCAA ever really go together?... Notre Dame won yesterday but they did not cover the spread. Even with the win - many fans jumped off the Fighting Irish bandwagon. I know that Charlie Weis doesn't set the spread but his job nonetheless is to cover it (no I'm not bitter - much)... At gametime - Army was an 8.5 favorite over a fellow 1-A competitor Ball State. When was the last time Army was favored by that many points? With Army and Air Force victories yesterday - the service academies are now a combined 5-4 on the season. Good for them...

College Football Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous college football thoughts and observations.

Ohio State is a 22 point favorite over Navy today and I'm tempted to take the Midshipmen. The Buckeyes will not be familiar with the triple-option and will probably be looking ahead to USC next week. No matter what happens since Navy is getting $1.4 million to play this game - they already come out ahead. Amateur sports my ass... Another potential look-ahead trap game is Kentucky vs. Miami of Ohio. The Wildcats next opponent is in-state rival Louisville but Kentucky has an off week next Saturday so I think they keep their concentration enough to cover the 15.5 points against the Red Hawks... The last time Ohio State played Navy - Art Schlichter was the QB for the Buckeyes. I'm guessing he's betting Ohio State today... The Purdue vs Toledo game features new coaches for each team but only Purdue's coach expects to win. I like Purdue giving 10 but I also don't like the idea of all those fans bunched together in the midst of a potential swine flu outbreak... Thinking about Art Schlichter makes me think about never placing another bet again in my life...

Texas Leaves People Unsatisfied

Texas beat Ohio State 24-21 last night and in the process left just about everyone unsatisfied. The people who were supporting them as National Champs - unsatisfied. The Texas fans who bet on them - unsatisfied (the line was Texas -9). Heck - even the Ohio State fans who bet on Ohio State were left unsatisfied (sure they won money but their team still lost).

I thought Texas would win but that it would be a low scoring game (less then 53 points) - if you see what I'm saying between the lines. I was also left feeling unsatisfied. Even thought I wasn't really hurt monetarily by the game - I was still left feeling unsatisfied.

If anything - I was more than a little miffed at Texas. First they couldn't stop the run in the first half and then at half-time their band tries to butcher Stairway to Heaven. It was like black socks and Crocs for me. It left me with a bustle in my hedgerow.

This game managed to leave both Jimmy the Greek and John Phillip Sousa spinning in their graves. It's not the Texas band but here's Michigan's giving you a taste of tastelessness.

Greetings from Ohio

Yesterday was what I'd call a "travel day". The most part of the day was spent either flying from Providence to Pittsburgh or driving from Pittsburgh to Columbus.

Wait - what? Driving from Pittsburgh to Columbus? Isn't that like flying into Boston just to drive down to New York City? Well - yes. But I have my reasons. The rest of my week is to be spent in the Pittsburgh area - and heck - I don't mind driving.

I do mind being tired and yesterday I was tired. Monday night I stayed up to watch the Steelers and Browns and I also stayed up to re-read the first Harry Potter book. Like driving from Pittsburgh to Columbus - re-reading a book you've read several times already on a night when you need your sleep because you're leaving for the airport at 6:30 am doesn't seem to make sense. Unlike the driving decision - I really can't explain this one. OCD maybe? I picked up the book and I just had to finish it.

The sports talk in Pittsburgh was about Ben Roethlisberger and his right shoulder. If this was politics - they would be calling it "shoulder-gate". Does Big Ben have a slightly separated shoulder? How could all of the reporters and bloggers in Steelers obsessed Pittsburgh have missed this story? The team is basically dismissing the NBC report. I actually feel bad for NBC. Roethlisberger told them he had a slightly separated shoulder - what are they expect to do?

The sports talk in Columbus is of course all about the ass-kicking the Ohio State Buckeyes received Saturday night at the hands of USC. The finger of blame is being pointed all over the place. Talk about fickle fans. Firing Jim Tressel won't change the fact that USC was just the better team. Having Chris Wells in the line-up wouldn't have changed that fact either. Can't Buckeye fans just accept that their team maybe isn't the greatest team in all of the land? From what I've heard on sports radio - I think not.

One observation to make from Saturday's ass-whipping. I can't help but think Michigan made the right move to go with Rich Rodriguez and his speed oriented offense. You saw what speed can do on Saturday. Even though Michigan may be down for a few years - if Rodriguez can get the speed he wants at the skill positions then Ohio State is in trouble.

If Michigan can get the type of speed Rodriguez wants and they start beating Ohio State with it - then you'll really start to hear the "fire Jim Tressel" demands. And maybe then they'll be warranted.