A look at current events from the point of a view of a Conservative Evangelical Christian who stands firmly on the Word of God (that's the Bible for those of you at Berkley) and stands behind the Constitution of the United States of America. So grab yourself a big cup of java, kick back in your chair and enjoy another member of the "vast right wing conspiracy" making his voice heard.

Monday, December 31, 2007

We're getting to the real games now, and I'm sure I'm even more likely to offend someone…bygones!

Round two of Bowl-a-rama 2007 went this way:

Champs Bowl…BC won, just like predicted (1-0)

Texas Bowl…TCU won, ditto (2-0)

Fruit and Nut Bowl…Oregon State pulled it out, ditto again (3-0)

Oil Change Bowl…Wake pulled the upset out on me (3-1)

Liberty Bowl…I wanted State to win, didn't choose them though (3-2)

Alamo Bowl….Jo Pa is the man (3-3)

Indy Bowl…I still can't stand Saban (3-4)

Armed Services Bowl…Did Cal really win???? (3-5)

Well, after stinking up that round, I now have a combined pick total of 9-8…now on to the next batch of picks:

Humanitarian Bowl, December 31 on the Smurf Turf, Boise, ID
For the life of me, I have yet to figure out who in their right mind wants to travel to Boise in December and then play football on Blue Turf!

MY PICK: Boycotting this one.

Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX
Two former 2's match up with South Florida (9-3) out of the Big East taking on the Oregon Ducks (8-4) out of the Pac 10. Not exactly what I would call an intriguing match up…but I guess that both of them being as high as 2 in the polls makes it some what interesting; but not for me.
MY PICK: I've got a bonfire to build.

Music City Bowl in Nashville, TN
The Wildcats are the surprise team again under Rich Brooks coming out of the SEC with a 7-5 record and will face the once might Seminole Nation with a matching 7-5 record. Bobby Bowden had to leave 36 players behind for this one, and I think that will make the difference.

MY PICK: UK

Insight Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ
Indiana (7-5) makes their first bowl appearance in 14 years and face off against the Cowboys of OSU (6-6) out of the Big 12. IU didn't do too bad in a pretty sad Big 10 this year and OSU forgot that there is a 2nd half in most of their games.

MY PICK: My secretary is an OSU alum…I'll make them my default pick.

Chick-fil-A Bowl, Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA
I still haven't forgiven this most recent corporate buy out in the formally named Peach Bowl. This year 15 Clemson (9-3) takes on 22 Auburn (8-4) in the annual ACC/SEC match-up. I'm not sure if you realize this or not, but really they are the same school…except for the fact that Clemson has a lake.

MY PICK: I'll take the Tigers!

Outback Bowl, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL
The Vols bring a 9-4 record and a sore backside (as a result of the whooping from LSU in the SEC title game) into Tampa to face the Badgers from the United Socialist Republic of Madison (9-3). This will be one of 3 Big 10-SEC match ups that may be worth watching. Although Wisconsin has won the last 2 bowl games against SEC teams, I think this year will be different.

MY PICK: Vols

Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX
This year's Cotton Bowl Classic matches up the Arkansas Razorbacks (8-4) and their new coach Bobby Petrino (AKA, Nick Saban II) against the upstart Mizzou Tigers (11-2) making their first New Year's Day bowl appearance since before I was born (1970). McFaddan and Felix make up an exciting backfield for the Hawgs, but the Tigers bring in Heisman finalist Chase Daniel (I like that last name!).

MY PICK: Since we might be related, Chase Daniel and Missouri.

Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, FL
I've always liked this bowl game, and I'm not sure why…but this year we have Virginia (9-3) taking on Texas Tech (8-4); so that may change. I just saw that Gary Danielson is one of the announcers for this game, so that will be another reason not to watch it.

MY PICK: Watching the Capital One Bowl

Capital One Bowl, Citrus Bowl in Orlando
The Artist Formally Known as the Citrus Bowl hosts last year's BCS champion Florida (9-3) and Heisman winner Tim Tebow taking on Michigan (8-4) being lead onto the field for the final time by Lloyd Carr. Although I like Michigan way more than I like Florida…I think Tebow is too good.

MY PICK: Wolverines are Gator Bait.

That'll do it for this round…look out for the BCS games soon!

Friday, December 28, 2007

2007 Bowl-a-Rama part Deux

Bowl-A-Rama part Deux

Alrighty then, the first 8 bowl games of the extra season of American college football are over and in the books. We’ll begin with a quick review of my picks:

1. Poinsettia Bowl, My Pick: Navy…Utah won 35-32
2. New Orleans Bowl, My Pick: Shopping…and we got the last bit of it done. And for the record FAU beat Memphis 44-27.
3. Papa Johns.com Bowl, My Pick: Cincinnati…UC beat the Golden Eagles 31-21.
4. New Mexico Bowl, My Pick: My in-laws arrive…they did and we had Big Jakes BBQ! And for the record New Mexico ended a streak of bowl losses going back to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, winning 23-0 and I didn’t have to watch.
5. Las Vegas Bowl, My Pick: BYU…and it was way to close and not much scoring, Cougars win 17-16.
6. Hawaii Bowl, My Pick: Boise State…and their Cinderella run is over, the Pirates pulled the upset 41-38.
7. Motor City Bowl, My Pick: Christmas day leftovers…the ham was delicious! And for those of you keeping score at home, Purdue wins a shoot out 51-48.
8. Holiday Bowl, My Pick: Texas…the Horns did hook the Sun Devils 52-34.

That makes me 6 right, 2 wrong…Now on to my next round of prognosticating expertise:

Champs Sports Bowl, December 28 at Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL
BC (10-3) lost the ACC title game and finds themselves heading south to the land of Mickey with a streak of 7 consecutive bowl wins to face the Michigan State (7-5) out of the Big 10. The Spartans will be missing at least 5 players as a result of “incidents” that took place off field and BC has a QB named Matt Ryan who spent much of the season in the Heisman race.
MY PICK: BC should easily handle the Spartans in the Sunshine state, by 14.

Texas Bowl, at Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX
Not exactly the battle for Texas supremacy when former SWC foes Houston (8-4) out of the Conference USA faces off against TCU (7-5) out of The Mountain West Conference. Yeah…2 mid-majors, I can’t help but jump up and down (yawn). Houston is winless in bowl games, but is basically playing at home (yes Houston…you do have a college football team!) but the Horned Frogs are picked by 4.5.
MY PICK: I’ll take the line, TCU.

Emerald Bowl, at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA
The Granola City (full of fruits, flakes and nuts) gets a bowl game named after a nut company…go figure! Maryland comes out of the ACC with a 6-6 record and flies cross country to face off against the Beavers of Oregon State (8-4) out of the Pac 12. And even though these are major conferences, this is another example of too many bowl games since the Terps finished 8th in their conference.
MY PICK: Too much jet lag, I’ll pick the Beavs and probably won’t watch this one.

Meineke Car Care Bowl, December 29 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC
Ah, the beauty of corporate buy outs as we have yet another bowl game named after a company playing in a stadium named after a company! Two up and comers face off with UConn playing more than basketball bringing a 9-3 record out of the Big East to face off against last year’s BCS crasher Wake Forest (8-4) out of the ACC making it’s second EVER consecutive bowl appearance. While I am a committed Baptist myself, Wake does tend to be left of Fidel Castro in terms of theology and politics…while the state of Connecticut has given us Joe Lieberman.
MY PICK: I like Joe…UConn by a TD.

Liberty Bowl at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN
The Dawgs of Mississippi State (7-5) return to bowl action under the leadership of SEC Coach of the Year Sylvester Croom and face off against the University of Central Florida with a 10-3 record. Remember the good old days when Florida, Florida State and Miami were the football schools? I like State, and other than LSU, they are the only team I consistently cheer for in the SEC…but UCF has a great junior running back named Kevin Smith who needs only 181 yards to break the NCAA single season rushing record; and he may be the game breaker.
MY PICK: As much as I like State, I think Smith will make the difference, UCF by 7.

Alamo Bowl at the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, TX“Joe Pa’s” 500th game at the helm of the Penn State Nittany Lions (8-4) heads south to play the Aggies from Texas A&M (7-5), fresh off a win over arch rivals Texas to end the season. While the Aggies tend to fall apart in bowl games, Penn State has been inconsistent at best in big games over the last few years.
MY PICK: I’ll go with home field and the ability to win a big game by picking A&M by 10.

Independence Bowl at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, LA
I’m still not sure if Alabama will make it to the game since they can’t get through Monroe (or the University of Louisiana at Monroe, who beat the Tide in Tuscaloosa!). Nick Satan…oops, I mean Saban and his Gumps come into Shreveport for a 2nd year in a row with a not so stellar 6-6 record to face Big 12 foe Colorado with a matching 6-6 record. Uh…yeah, this is a winner. Reminds me of the good old days when the I-Bowl could only get mid-majors.
MY PICK: Two words…BEAT SABAN! The Buffs beat Oklahoma; they should be able to beat the Gumps too.

Armed Forces Bowl, December 31 at Amon G Carter Stadium in Ft Worth, TX
The artist formally known as the Ft. Worth bowl gets renamed to the Armed Forces Bowl and gets one of the service Academies, Air Force (6-3) to face off against Cal (6-6) out of the Pac 10. The boys from Berkley started off strong this year with a big win over Tennessee and had the opportunity to #1 in the nation after LSU lost to Kentucky…but their wheels fell off, BIG TIME! They wound up with a pathetic 6-6 record and face off against the high powered offense of the US Air Force Academy Falcons.
MY PICK: I’m a proud American…unlike Berkley, which I’m not so sure is American; Air Force by 10.

Friday, December 21, 2007

2007 Bowl-a-rama

It’s that time of the year again where the artist formally known as Division I-A, now known as the NCAA FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) enters into a fun filled 3 weeks of college bowl games. On tap this year is another 32 games for the hard core college football fan, or a lot of naps for those of us who feel there are way too many bowl games for our own good. And for those of you keeping score at home this means this means 64 of the 119 FBS schools will be in a post season game…somebody shoot me, please!

For your convenience and bowl game viewing enjoyment, I will now go through with my own expert prognostications and let you know my own opinion on each game and each team. And as always you can expect this to be very politically incorrect, very sarcastic and very opinionated. If I hurt your feelings by picking on your favorite team (or home state), just try some of that “enhanced” eggnog and read it again later…I promise, it’ll be funny then!

Now with that said…

Poinsettia Bowl, December 20 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA.
Oh, how I miss the good old days when a bowl game was something to strive for and put the best of the best going head to head…unfortunately here we have Utah vs. Navy. The 8-4 fighting Utes of Utah from the defenseless Mountain West Conference play host to the Navy Midshipmen, also with a record of 8-4 on the season. Navy won this game 2 years ago but Utah is picked as the favorite in this year’s match up. As for me, I’m going to be throwing my support behind Navy because I’M A PROUD AMERICAN! And to not pull for Navy is…well, UNAMERICAN! Besides, Navy was one of the many who put a whooping on Notre Dame this year, and that always makes me smile! And will someone tell me why the Mountain West Conference has 5 teams in bowl games!?!?!
MY PICK: Navy

New Orleans Bowl, December 21 at the Superdome in New Orleans, LA
Florida Atlantic and Memphis face off in the Big Easy with matching 7-5 records…and I have no idea what the purpose of this game is. I love New Orleans, but isn’t the Sugar Bowl and the BCS title game enough? Does anyone even know what the mascot for FAU is!?!?! NO, of course not! The only thing this game has going for it is the legend of Howard Schnellenberger. I guess this may be turn out to be the third best bowl game in New Orleans this year (There are only 3 bowls in New Orleans for any Berkley students that may not get that)…but possibly the worst of the season.
MY PICK: It’s the Friday before Christmas…go shopping!

Papa John’s Bowl, December 22 at Legion Field in Birmingham, AL
This is like the 4th bowl game in the history of Legion Field and it must really tick off Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, KY that they didn’t get this one! The always dangerous Southern Miss Golden Eagles with new head coach Larry Fedora head up I-59 to take on former C-USA foe Cincinnati. The Gold Birds are 7-5 and the Bearcats come out of the Big East with a 9-3 record. While I think this game will be watchable for me due to living in Hattiesburg while in college at William Carey University, and also having a wife from Cincinnati…I can’t guarantee anyone else will enjoy it. In the end, I think the Cats may be too much for the Eagles.
MY PICK: Cincinnati by 10

New Mexico Bowl, University Stadium in Albuquerque, NM
Nevada brings a 6-6 record to what amounts to a home game for the 8-4 New Mexico Lobos. Is this a joke?
MY PICK: I’m praying my in-laws have arrived so I have an excuse not to watch this!!!

Las Vegas Bowl, at Sam Boyd Stadium in…wait for it: Las Vegas
A rematch from September 8 when the formally 13th ranked UCLA Bruins beat then unranked BYU Cougars 27-17 in LA. I’m curious though, what are they smoking in Las Vegas to invite a bunch of Mormons to the gambling capital of the world???? Do they really expect to make money on this? The Bruins are 6-6 and the followers of Joe Smith are 10-2, ranked 19th and are a 5.5 point favorite.
MY PICK: Since I hate LA and I like Mitt Romney, the Mormons by 2 TD’s.

Hawaii Bowl, December 23 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, HI
The game traditionally played on Christmas day and traditionally hosted by the University of Hawaii has lost its place on the calendar and its home team. This year Boise State (10-2) heads south and represents the WAC thanks to their loss to Hawaii and will play host to East Carolina (7-5), one of 6 teams from C-USA in bowl games (yes, I said 6 from the mid-major of mid-majors). The boys in blue from the blue turf have a high powered offense as always and East Carolina…well, isn’t actually a state; I mean I know where North and South Carolina is, but I have yet to find East Carolina on a map. Oh, they’re Pirates…they’re from the ocean!
MY PICK: Boise State easily

Motor City Bowl, December 26 at Ford Field in Detroit, MI
Central Michigan (8-5) gets what amounts to a home game against their neighbors from the south, Purdue (7-5) out of the Big 10. This is a tough one because CMU is a mid-major (one of 3 in bowl games from the Mid-American conference…I think I need some Tylenol just thinking about that) and has already lost to Purdue this season. Also keep in mind that Purdue has a weak 3-5 conference record in one of the weakest Big 10 conferences in a long time.
MY PICK: It’s the day after Christmas and bowl games should be played in the south…I choose the leftovers from Christmas dinner.

Holiday Bowl, December 27 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA
Arizona State and their nomad coach Dennis Erickson (this is his 6th NCAA head coaching gig, also had 2 NFL head coaching gigs) go west into San Diego with a 10-2 record to face the 9-3 Texas Longhorns who began the season expecting to play on New Years day. At least there is no mid-major in this game…but then again, I’m not sure the Big 12 isn’t a mid-major most years. Both teams are ranked though and each had BCS aspirations, so this may be worthwhile match up.
MY PICK: Hook ‘em Horns, Texas by 3.

That’ll take care of this first round, be on the lookout for the next 8 coming soon.

Friday, December 07, 2007

Idiots...

I guess you can't really expect much from a store in the state that elects people like Hillary Clinton and Charlie Rangel to represent them. Apparently a high end grocer in Manhattan advertised hams as "Delicious for Chanukah".
For those of you in Fayetteville, AR who wondering "What's wrong with that?!?!?!"...i would hate for you to dig out a Bible and look it up; that could cause so much undue stress. Pork is not "kosher" for the Jews who celebrate Hannukah during this time of year (yes, there is a reason for those 8 pronged candle holders). In other words, they don't eat pork...and ham is pork!

But then again, i guess if they can get they ham blessed by a rabbi at one of those liberal synogogues it may be ok...