Edwin MacPhisto

This game contrasts pretty starkly with yesterday's for me in terms of entertainment. That was killer defense; this is just sloppy.

Harvin coming back would be really surprising, given that his speed alone probably makes him a first-rounder.

That's interesting, but I kind of wonder about the point. By the time you hit level 16 or so, you pretty much have to try to get yourself killed regardless of the way you built your character. It'll be nice to have something to make wandering around the wasteland a bit more appealing after level 20, but you certainly don't need any more leveling to succeed in this game.

I might get my upset pick right! How bout them Cards.

I fell asleep in the third quarter, but that was all right.

Last weekend I was at a friend's house with a group of people hanging out, one of whom was a cop. Somehow we got to talking about security clearances (great party!), and apparently the cop wanted to smoke weed but wouldn't until I left because he thought I was an undercover FBI agent. Cops are retarded. This is horrible, to get back on topic. A subway cop is honestly not much better than a mall cop.

You seem to be overlooking the fact that he's gotten to 4 national title games. Do you know how many programs would be absolutely fucking overjoyed to see that kind of success? I guess the previous 7 national titles have just kind of spoiled us. Plus you know, constantly seeing your team lose on the big stage. That sucks too 6 of 8 division titles since Stoops' national title in 2000, which was the team's first since 1985. Oh, and 5 of those led to conference championships. Oklahoma is easily the second most dominant program of the decade. I know coming close and losing sucks, but I would kill for just a single conference title for my team in that span. The national title game is ultimately meaningless, and while a fan should always be a bit pissed when his team loses a big one, I would say that Stoops rattling off conference titles and 10-12 win seasons means he's an incredible college football coach all but perhaps two or three programs in the country would love to have.

I listened to most of this and wasn't thrilled. Most of the stuff was interesting for a minute, but lost me pretty quickly when it became clear the instrumentals weren't going to change much even when Jay's tempo and delivery did. I like "Change Order" the best, just because "Gag Order" has a pretty satisfying, plaintive guitar twangle that goes well with "Never Change." Unfortunately, it doesn't go as well with "Never Change" as the original backing track to "Never Change."

I'm just gonna embed the shit out of stuff whilst replying to your inquiry. The opening lines are from...

Pretty much the best, yeah. The only time I've ever heard it disparaged was by a curmudgeonly-beyond-his-years late-20s New Yorker, whose accent was thick and puzzled as he queried, "What is this? Sounds like a negro talking over some smooth jazz." Also, marking the second time this has been embedded on the board in a day's time:

Another glorious year. Thanks again for all the mind-numbing collation and tallying, Bored.

Just remember that all the bowl games are really just exhibition games, and that even the championship is a fairly meaningless game whose participants are generated by the votes of people who don't watch the games and some questionable computer formulas. Winning your conference is still the standard by which a great college football season should be judged.

If Florida wins this game, Brandon Spikes should throw a bag of trash at Sam Bradford's feet.

I do all the letters for KOAB, as they flow quite nicely. Kay-oh-ay-bee. Smooze.

I actually thought this thread was really funny.

I didn't realize this was happening at the moment. Completely missed it in the top part of the board. Work is dull as shit today, so I think, for the first time, I'm going to vote in one of these here poster tournaments. Dandy - This dude is coldblooded. I have to vote for him or he'll reveal the controversial information he recently learned about me. Inc - Impressive member. Anatomically, I mean. Byron - From the day I saw that Neutral Milk Hotel avatar, I knew I could count on him to join me in overanalytical, dangerously unironic appreciation of various rap artists, both good and awful. Ortonsault - Slayer, while a beautiful creature, is hitched to The Enemy. Hokies I shall never abide. Kinetic - I kind of want him to win so he can show the trophy to people at bars in his new home, thus making friends. Canadian Chris - Subtle with a zinger, and deadly in college football pick-ems. Bored - Bored clearly reads all the same semi-irreverent and highly analytical sports blogs I do, but always seems to get to them an hour or two ahead of me. Given the amount of time he's burned over the past several years maintaining the CFB pick-em, it would be nearly impossible for me to vote anyone over him on a sheer "value I have received from TSM" level. Me - Except maybe me! We'll see. KOAB - This was very difficult. It felt like drowning a son. Mattdotcom - Cutting analysis, and actually lives in the lower 48 to the best of my knowledge. Begone, outlander. Pbone - Another child-murder. 2009 TSM Poster Tournament, though art cruel. Despite his glorious check on obsessive indierock isolation in music-land, I have never encouraged Kamala to cheat on his girlfriend, so I probably owe Parker this one. Agent - NFL > MLB. Kreese - CG's endless cycle of staffing retail electronics stores leaves me confused and hurting. Treble - Would likely be the "and Treble as 'Treble'" towards the end of the opening credits in the film version. Milky - My nigga indeed. VX - Poster tournament needs more west coast mods. Nope! Still kinda fun, though.

You're reminding me of Clint Eastwood in those Gran Torino ads. I'd say college football is a game first and a developmental system second, given that only a few hundred players in a year will even sniff an NFL practice squad. As a game, I love it; the lack of physical development and uneven talent levels require innovation in coaching and the approach to the game, and it tends to have more deliriously nationalistic fans than the NFL. I think it's hard not to adore college football if you go to a college whose team is at all competitive. I'd say the exploitative issue is an entirely different argument to take with college football, unless you want to get really, really invested and write off a sport entirely because of its deficiencies in treatment of its participants.

Also, they ought to get off your lawn. BEAR WEATHER.

What's with all you dudes giving up the bottle? Is it some fruity new year's resolution deal? You're making me feel like a lush.

It was, as were both of Jay-Z's post-Black Album albums. I don't expect much out of him anymore. Speaking of Jay, he's coming to DC for a show at the 2200-seat Warner Theatre. Tickets are only $375 to $1000!

I'd play it without the guide and just wander. The discovery is really a huge part of the game, and I think it'll lose something if you always know where you're going. If you really want to do everything, take the Explorer perk when you hit level 20, and you'll have every location on your map. You can also just look at one of those maps online in lieu of that, which gives you a sense of where everything is without telling you what everything is.

Those are the four games that I think are more or less essential, besides Fallout 3. Bioshock's the most immersive console FPS available, and Mass Effect is killer storytelling with an excellent RPG/action hybrid feel, probably my favorite 360 game. That one's certainly worth a purchase, as it's only $20 now and you can easily get two full playthroughs out of it before you come close to getting bored. COD 4 has a brief single-player campaign, but is absolutely worth it if you can see yourself losing hours and hours in multiplayer games; the multiplayer leveling system is a brilliant way of maintaining interest, and you can literally be in a match blasting away 30 seconds after turning on the game. Gears 1 is relatively short, but excellent. You can beat it in a couple of days, and I've never been a huge fan of the multiplayer--it's clunkier than Call of Duty or Halo and can be frustrating if you're not on a well-coordinated team--but I've played through the campaign a few times because it's so unique. For the $30 you can get it for, I think it's worth it, but a week-long rental could also be enough if you're saving cash. It definitely has the roided-up feel that Hawk cited, but it's essentially a sci-fi action movie where you do all the action-ing. Great setpieces and battles that reward creativity and your effective use of the environment. I started playing the sequel a few days ago, and it's an obvious purchase if you like the first. I would advise renting GTA4, as I never came around on the game, which injects the series with a lot more seriousness and may not actually be what you're expecting from a GTA game. I found it to be a poor shooter, poor driver, and poor just in terms of the usual chaotic fun one expects from the series. I didn't find it nearly as interesting and forward-looking as the games previously mentioned, though I am admittedly in the minority on this one.

They should have more or less eliminated most "blowout" talk among informed viewers after handling Atlanta. I think they have a great chance at the upset if they continue to get production out of Edge, and, more importantly, if they can play better after traveling to the east coast for once. They lost all 5 east coast games this year, and got absolutely murdered in 3 of them. There seems to be something very wrong with the way they prepare on a long traveling schedule.

Jawesome. Very glad I came back for the 4th quarter after dipping out for most of the 3rd.