Bored

Outback Bowl has been fun but the Cotton Bowl is showing why they need to have some sort of bowl selection committee. There's no reason a Top 10 team should be playing an unranked team in a bowl game.

This is probably the most shocking result of the bowl season so far. ECU beating Boise State was a bigger upset but I don't think anyone would think Oregon would handle USF the way they have after they went into the tank without Dixon. Glad I missed the Armed Forces Bowl as I would have been pissed to watch Cal comeback from 21-0 down to win.

Bored Bowl is over but might as well give a score update. "Halftime" Scores Bored Bowl: #1 South Carolina 12, #2 Nebraska 7 Synagogue Bowl: #3 N.C. State 13, #5 Stanford 12 Memorial Bowl: #4 LSU 9, #10 Texas 8 Dust Bowl: #8 Rutgers 10, #6 Boise State 9 Degenerate Bowl: Syracuse 11, #7 Florida State 10 Blackout Bowl: #9 Virginia 11, UTEP 5 Toilet Bowl: Kent State 10, Arizona 9 PETA Bowl: UCLA 9, Michigan 8 Chili Bowl: Miami of Ohio 13, San Diego State 10

Since the league expanded to 32 teams in 2001, here is how many 7 to 9 win teams there have been each season. 2001: 10 2002: 14 2003: 6 2004: 11 2005: 7 2006: 15 2007: 13 or 14 I have no idea what any of this means. 2003 is interesting because there was no team with fewer than 4 wins.

God dammit I really didn't want Moss to break Rice's record, not that Rice doesn't have enough records.

Ortiz is no where close to being a HOF at the moment but he's still relatively young. His career stats would have had a little more padding by now if the Twins hadn't dicked around with him for so long. He didn't even play enough to qualify for a batting title until his first year in Boston (2003) and that was his seventh year in the Majors.

Starting Thursday there will only be 15 games in 11 days but then on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day there will be 12 games total so figure that will be a good time to create a new thread. I think the Poinsettia Bowl actually should be quite entertaining but then we get a dreadful streak of bowls the following six days (which includes two rematches of regular season games) until the Holiday Bowl. THURSDAY Poinsettia Bowl: Utah vs. Navy, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN FRIDAY New Orleans Bowl: Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN2 SATURDAY PapaJohns.com Bowl: Southern Miss vs. #22 Cincinnati, 1:00 PM/10:00 AM, ESPN2 New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico vs. Nevada, 4:30/1:30 PM, ESPN Las Vegas Bowl: UCLA vs. #17 BYU, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN SUNDAY Hawaii Bowl: #24 Boise State vs. East Carolina, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN WEDNESDAY, December 26th Motor City Bowl: Purdue vs. Central Michigan, 7:30/4:30 PM, ESPN THURSDAY, December 27th Holiday Bowl: #11 Arizona State vs. #19 Texas, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN FRIDAY, December 28th Champs Sports Bowl: #14 Boston College vs. Michigan State, 5:00/2:00 PM, ESPN Texas Bowl: Houston vs. TCU, 8:00/5:00 PM, NFL Network Emerald Bowl: Oregon State vs. Maryland, 8:30/5:30 PM, ESPN SATURDAY, December 29th Meineke Car Care Bowl: #25 Connecticut vs. Wake Forest, 1:00 PM/10:00 AM, ESPN Liberty Bowl: UCF vs. Mississippi State, 4:30/1:30 PM, ESPN Alamo Bowl: Penn State vs. Texas A&M, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN SUNDAY, December 30th Independence Bowl: Colorado vs. Alabama, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN

This year's Bored Championship Series was all about Cock... Cuban Linx's South Carolina Gamecocks are your Bored Bowl Champions. After a dominating regular season it is only fitting that he made quick work in the Bored Bowl, wrapping up the title with still three differing games left. Congratulations again to Cuban Linx. As for the rest of you...you all got beat in college football contest by a guy from Australia. You should all be ashamed of yourselves!

Never seen that before, someone on the Texas sideline touches the ball while it is in play and costs the Longhorns a huge turnover that at this point may have already put the game away if Texas had been able to keep the ball. And ASU capitalizes with a touchdown on the next play. Unreal.

Well this certainly turned into a much better game than anyone could have anticipated, especially after it was 34-13 at halftime. Bah, another field goal finish.

Texans - 17 points New England Philadelphia Carolina Cincinnati Dallas Green Bay Jacksonville New Orleans Pittsburgh Atlanta Cleveland Indianapolis Minnesota San Diego Arizona N.Y. Jets

Tim Raines - Leftfielder Montreal Expos 1979-1990, 2001 Chicago White Sox 1991-1995 New York Yankees 1996-1998 Oakland Athletics 1999 Baltimore Orioles 2001 Florida Marlins 2002 Awards 1986 N.L. Silver Slugger - OF 1987 All-Star Game MVP All-Star Selections: 7 (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987) League Leader 1981: Stolen Bases 1982: Stolen Bases 1983: Runs, Stolen Bases 1984: Doubles, Stolen Bases 1986: Batting Average, OBP, Runs Created 1987: Runs Career Ranks Games: 48th Runs: 46th Hits: 68th TB: 100th BB: 33rd SB: 5th RC: 51st Best Performance April 18, 1994 - Chicago at Boston Hit three homeruns against the Red Sox. Hall of Fame Stats Black Ink: Batting - 20 (105) (Average HOFer ≈ 27) Gray Ink: Batting - 114 (176) (Average HOFer ≈ 144) HOF Standards: Batting - 46.8 (91) (Average HOFer ≈ 50) HOF Monitor: Batting - 90.0 (175) (Likely HOFer > 100) Similar Batters in HOF: 5 (Lou Brock, Max Carey, Fred Clarke, Harry Hooper, Enos Slaughter) Other Similar Batters: Kenny Lofton, Willie Davis, Jimmy Ryan, Jose Cruz, Julio Franco Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3) 1979: 0/0.0 1980: 0/0.1 1981: 18/5.6 1982: 21/5.5 1983: 29/9.1 1984: 32/9.0 1985: 36/11.8 1986: 32/9.9 1987: 34/10.3 1988: 19/6.4 1989: 25/8.1 1990: 19/5.1 1991: 19/6.5 1992: 28/10.2 1993: 19/5.9 1994: 14/4.6 1995: 14/4.8 1996: 7/2.1 1997: 9/3.3 1998: 11/3.3 1999: 1/0.6 2001: 3/1.4 2002: 0/0.1 Career Win Shares: 390 Career WARP3: 123.9 My Stupid Opinion Second greatest lead off hitter of all-time who should be a slam dunk, first ballot Hall of Famer this year but won't be. In The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, which was published in 2001 right near the end of Raines' career, James ranked Raines as the 8th best leftfielder of all-time behind Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson, Carl Yastrzemski, Joe Jackson, and Al Simmons. You could make a legitimate argument that from 1985 to 1987 Raines was the MVP of the National League each season yet he failed to crack the Top 5 in the writer's vote in those years. Playing his prime years in Montreal and being overshadowed by Henderson certainly hurt the national media's perception of him. Maybe also hurt by that he probably hung around a few years longer than he should have but he'd hardly be the first HOF to do that. The very small sample of writer ballots that have become public are at least semi-encouraging as it appears he'll probably end up on between 30-40% of the ballots which isn't bad for someone the writers don't view as a first ballot HOF.

When it came to the "best performance" in each entry I didn't put too much time into it because it could take all day going through various games to pinpoint the best one, especially with someone who played as long as Raines. Here was one I considered, went 4 for 5 with two doubles and had four stolen bases. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1981/B04210MON1981.htm

I'm more interested in the 7.5% of the public that thinks Todd Sottlemyre or Shawon Dunston is a HOF.

David Justice - Rightfielder Atlanta Braves 1989-1996 Cleveland Indians 1997-2000 New York Yankees 2000-2001 Oakland Athletics 2002 Awards 1990 N.L. Rookie of the Year 1993 N.L. Silver Slugger - OF 1997 N.L. Silver Slugger - OF 2000 ALCS MVP All-Star Selections: 3 (1993, 1994, 1997) League Leader None Career Ranks SLG%: 90th OPS: 95th HR/AB: 73rd Best Performance May 7, 1999 - Cleveland at Tampa Bay Went 4 for 4 with two homeruns, four runs scored, and five RBI. Hall of Fame Stats Gray Ink: Batting - 43 (564) (Average HOFer ≈ 144) HOF Standards: Batting - 28.7 (309) (Average HOFer ≈ 50) HOF Monitor: Batting - 43.5 (416) (Likely HOFer > 100) Similar Batters in HOF: 1 (Larry Doby) Other Similar Batters: Tim Salmon, Ryan Klesko, Rudy York, Kent Hrbek, Greg Luzinski, Jeromy Burnitz, Darryl Strawberry, Roy Sievers, Mo Vaughn Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3) 1989: 0/0.1 1990: 20/4.5 1991: 22/6.0 1992: 23/8.0 1993: 29/8.5 1994: 19/7.5 1995: 19/5.5 1996: 7/2.7 1997: 26/7.6 1998: 13/4.8 1999: 16/4.8 2000: 20/7.5 2001: 8/2.6 2002: 11/3.5 Career Win Shares: 233 Career WARP3: 73.6 My Stupid Opinion Good hitter who could rarely stay healthy an entire season. He managed to play over 150 games in a season only once in his career, which also happened to be his best year in 1993. His career does prove that postseason experience doesn't mean shit when it actually comes to playing the postseason as he played in 112 postseason games but hit only .224/.335/.382. He did fuck Halle Berry but he's not close to being borderline candidate where such a feat can be considered.

Well shut my mouth. After seemingly the game was over after Boise State fumbled deep in ECU territory, the Broncos get a 50 yard fumble return for a touchdown to tie it with 1:25 left. Now ECU needs to turn the tables and bust out their own hook and ladder right now. Edit: Chipshot field goal ends it. Borrrrrrrrrring.

Looking like we might have our first upset of the bowl season as Boise is down 14 to ECU in the 4th. Just a hunch we won't get an finish as exciting as last year's Fiesta Bowl.

TV Schedule for the Week of 12/24 - 12/30 Not surprisingly there ain't whole lot going on this week. THURSDAY Nevada at #1 North Carolina, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN2 SATURDAY Wisconsin at #9 Texas, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN2 Kentucky vs. San Diego, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, ESPN2 #11 Tennessee vs. Gonzaga, 4:00/1:00 PM, ESPN2 Oklahoma vs. #23 West Virginia, 6:00/3:00 PM, ESPN2 #6 Pittsburgh at Dayton, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN2 #17 Arizona at #2 Memphis, 10:00/7:00 PM, ESPN2 SUNDAY Florida State at Georgia Tech, 5:30/2:30 PM, FSN Vaplaraiso at #1 North Carolina, 7:30/4:30 PM, FSN

Warren Sapp received three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties with 21 seconds left in the half and was ejected. It moved the Jaguars from the Raiders 35 to inside the five but then Garrard gets picked on the next play.

There might be a need for a thread for the period time between the end of the regular season and the bowl season. This weekend is the FCS Final Four and the Heisman Trophy Presentation. I again plead with everyone stop caring about this pointless award. Feel free to continue to vent about the BCS or talk about any bowl games that actually interest you. FRIDAY Richmond at Appalachian State, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN2 SATURDAY Delaware at Southern Illinois, 4:00/1:00 PM, ESPN FRIDAY, December 14th FCS National Championship Game, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN2

That was the perfect way to end UCLA's season. And now we're storming the field in bowl games.

Toilet Bowl Picks Kent State - JHawk December 20th Poinsettia: Utah vs. Navy/b] December 21st New Orleans: Florida Atlantic vs. Memphis December 22nd PapaJohns.com: Southern Miss vs. Cincinnati New Mexico: Nevada vs. New Mexico Las Vegas: BYU vs. UCLA December 23rd Hawaii: Boise State vs. East Carolina December 26th Motor City: Purdue vs. Central Michigan December 27th Holiday: Arizona State vs.Texas December 28th Champs Sports: Boston College vs. Michigan State Texas: TCU vs. Houston Emerald: Oregon State vs. Maryland December 29th Meineke Car Care: Wake Forest vs. Connecticut Liberty: UCF vs. Mississippi State Alamo: Penn State vs. Texas A&M December 30th Independence: Alabama vs. Colorado December 31st Armed Forces: Air Force vs. California Sun: South Florida vs. Oregon Humanitarian: Fresno State vs. Georgia Tech Music City: Florida State vs. Kentucky Insight: Oklahoma State vs. Indiana Chick-fil-A: Clemson vs. Auburn January 1st Outback: Wisconsin vs. Tennessee Cotton: Arkansas vs. Missouri Gator: Texas Tech vs. Virginia Capital One: Michigan vs. Florida[/bb] Rose: USC vs. Illinois Sugar: Georgia vs. Hawaii January 2nd Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. West Virginia January 3rd Orange: Virginia Tech vs. Kansas January 5th International: Ball State vs. Rutgers January 6th GMAC: Bowling Green vs. Tulsa January 7th BCS: Ohio State vs. LSU Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the BCS Championship Game? 58 Tiebreak #2: How many total yards of offense will there be in the BCS Championship Game? 692 Arizona - UZI Suicide December 21st New Orleans: Memphis December 22nd PapaJohns.com: Cincinnati New Mexico: Nevada Las Vegas: UCLA December 23rd Hawaii: Boise State December 26th Motor City: Purdue December 27th Holiday: Texas December 28th Champs Sports: Boston College Texas: TCU Emerald: Oregon State December 29th Meineke Car Care: Wake Forest Liberty: UCF Alamo: Penn State December 30th Independence: Alabama December 31st Armed Forces: California Sun: South Florida Humanitarian: Georgia Tech Music City: Kentucky Insight: Oklahoma State Chick-fil-A: Clemson January 1st Outback: Tennessee Cotton: Arkansas Gator: Texas Tech Capital One: Florida Rose: USC Sugar: Hawaii January 2nd Fiesta: Oklahoma January 3rd Orange: Virginia Tech January 5th International: Rutgers January 6th GMAC: Tulsa January 7th BCS: LSU Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the BCS Championship Game? 40 Tiebreak #2: How many total yards of offense will there be in the BCS Championship Game? 451

I haven't received picks from UZI Suicide so I wonder if he even knew he was in a bowl so I will send him a PM. Obviously he gets no points for tonight. JHawk picked Navy and I'll wait to post the rest of his picks until I get UZI's. Who You Should Root For Bored Bowl #1 South Carolina (Cuban Linx, 11-2) vs. #2 Nebraska (Mecca, 10-3) SC: Utah, New Mexico, BYU, Arizona State, TCU, Oregon State, Alabama, Indiana, Missouri NE: Navy, Nevada, UCLA, Texas, Houston, Maryland, Colorado, Oklahoma State, Arkansas The Synagogue Bowl presented by Al Jazerra #3 N.C. State (Above Average484, 8-4) vs. #5 Stanford (Bored, 9-4) NCS: Texas, California, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Clemson SU: Arizona State, Air Force, Fresno State, Indiana, Auburn Deadspin.com Barbaro Memorial Bowl #4 LSU (teke184, 9-3) vs. #10 Texas (UTBroward, 8-4) LSU: Cincinnati, Central Michigan, Wake Forest, Air Force, South Florida, Kentucky, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma TX: Southern Miss, Purdue, Connecticut, California, Oregon, Florida State, Missouri, Hawaii, West Virginia The SWF.com Dust Bowl #6 Boise State (Vitamin X, 10-3) vs. #8 Rutgers (the pinjockey, 8-5) BS: Utah, Houston, Maryland, Fresno State, Missouri, USC, Hawaii RU: Navy, TCU, Oregon State, Georgia Tech, Arkansas, Illinois, Georgia Covers.com Degenerate Bowl #7 Florida State (King, 8-4) vs. Syracuse (CanadianChris, 7-5) FS: Navy, Memphis, Texas, TCU, Connecticut, Air Force, Fresno State, Clemson, Arkansas, Ohio State SU: Utah, Florida Atlantic, Arizona State, Houston, Wake Forest, California, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Missouri, LSU Tiebreak: 45/48 ConED Blackout Bowl #9 Virginia (Edwin MacPhisto, 8-5) vs. UTEP (Angel Grace Blue, 7-6) VA: Utah, Cincinnati, Purdue, Texas, TCU, Wake Forest, Air Force, Fresno State, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Tulsa, LSU UTEP: Navy, Southern Miss, Central Michigan, Arizona State, Houston, Connecticut, California, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Hawaii, West Virginia, Kansas, Bowling Green, Ohio State Tiebreak: 48/47 Ex-Lax Toilet Bowl Kent State (JHawk, 8-4) vs. Arizona (UZI Suicide, 6-6) KS: Navy, Florida Atlantic, New Mexico, Houston, Mississippi State, Colorado, Oregon, Florida State, Auburn, Missouri, Virginia, West Virginia, Kansas, Bowling Green, Ohio State AZ: Memphis, Nevada, TCU, UCF, Alabama, South Florida, Kentucky, Clemson, Arkansas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Tulsa, LSU Tiebreaks: 58/40, 692/451 KFC PETA Bowl UCLA (phoenixrising, 7-6) vs. Michigan (MFerXtreme87, 7-5) UCLA: New Mexico, UCLA, Arizona State, TCU, Wake Forest, Mississippi State, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Georgia MI: Nevada, BYU, Texas, Houston, Connecticut, UCF, Alabama, Fresno State, Clemson, Hawaii Tiebreaks: 44/58, 550/670 Trent Boyette’s Texas Chili Bowl Miami of Ohio* (Hawk 34, 7-6) vs. San Diego State* (the walkin' dude, 6-6) MOH: Florida Atlantic, Wake Forest, Mississippi State, Air Force, Fresno State, Indiana, Clemson, Texas Tech, West Virginia, Bowling Green SDS: Memphis, Connecticut, UCF, California, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Auburn, Virginia, Oklahoma, Tulsa Tiebreak: 56/61

Blackout Bowl Picks UTEP - Angel Grace Blue December 20th Poinsettia: Navy December 21st New Orleans: Memphis December 22nd PapaJohns.com: Southern Miss New Mexico: Nevada Las Vegas: BYU December 23rd Hawaii: Boise State December 26th Motor City: Central Michigan December 27th Holiday: Arizona State December 28th Champs Sports: Boston College Texas: Houston Emerald: Oregon State December 29th Meineke Car Care: Connecticut Liberty: UCF Alamo: Penn State December 30th Independence: Alabama December 31st Armed Forces: California Sun: South Florida Humanitarian: Georgia Tech Music City: Kentucky Insight: Indiana Chick-fil-A: Auburn January 1st Outback: Wisconsin Cotton: Missouri Gator: Texas Tech Capital One: Michigan Rose: USC Sugar: Hawaii January 2nd Fiesta: West Virginia January 3rd Orange: Kansas January 5th International: Rutgers January 6th GMAC: Bowling Green January 7th BCS: Ohio State Tiebreak #1: 47 Tiebreak #2: 650 Virginia - Edwin MacPhisto December 20th Poinsettia: Utah December 21st New Orleans: Memphis December 22nd PapaJohns.com: Cincinnati New Mexico: Nevada Las Vegas: BYU December 23rd Hawaii: Boise State December 26th Motor City: Purdue December 27th Holiday: Texas December 28th Champs Sports: Boston College Texas: TCU Emerald: Oregon State December 29th Meineke Car Care: Wake Forest Liberty: UCF Alamo: Penn State December 30th Independence: Alabama December 31st Armed Forces: Air Force Sun: South Florida Humanitarian: Fresno State Music City: Kentucky Insight: Oklahoma State Chick-fil-A: Auburn January 1st Outback: Tennessee Cotton: Missouri Gator: Texas Tech Capital One: Florida Rose: USC Sugar: Georgia January 2nd Fiesta: Oklahoma January 3rd Orange: Virginia Tech January 5th International: Rutgers January 6th GMAC: Tulsa January 7th BCS: LSU Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the BCS Championship Game? 48 Tiebreak #2: How many total yards of offense will there be in the BCS Championship Game? 788

Degenerate Bowl Picks Syracuse - CanadianChris December 20th Poinsettia: Utah December 21st New Orleans: Florida Atlantic December 22nd PapaJohns.com: Cincinnati New Mexico: New Mexico Las Vegas: BYU December 23rd Hawaii: Boise State December 26th Motor City: Purdue December 27th Holiday: Arizona State December 28th Champs Sports: Boston College Texas: Houston Emerald: Oregon State December 29th Meineke Car Care: Wake Forest Liberty: UCF Alamo: Penn State December 30th Independence: Alabama December 31st Armed Forces: California Sun: South Florida Humanitarian: Georgia Tech Music City: Kentucky Insight: Indiana Chick-fil-A: Auburn January 1st Outback: Tennessee Cotton: Missouri Gator: Virginia Capital One: Florida Rose: USC Sugar: Georgia January 2nd Fiesta: Oklahoma January 3rd Orange: Virginia Tech January 5th International: Rutgers January 6th GMAC: Tulsa January 7th BCS: LSU Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the BCS Championship Game? 48 Tiebreak #2: How many total yards of offense will there be in the BCS Championship Game? 829 Florida State - King December 20th Poinsettia: Utah vs. Navy December 21st New Orleans: Florida Atlantic vs. Memphis December 22nd PapaJohns.com: Southern Miss vs. Cincinnati New Mexico: Nevada vs. New Mexico Las Vegas: BYU vs. UCLA December 23rd Hawaii: Boise State vs. East Carolina December 26th Motor City: Purdue vs. Central Michigan December 27th Holiday: Arizona State vs. Texas December 28th Champs Sports: Boston College vs. Michigan State Texas: TCU vs. Houston Emerald: Oregon State vs. Maryland December 29th Meineke Car Care: Wake Forest vs. Connecticut Liberty: UCF vs. Mississippi State Alamo: Penn State vs. Texas A&M December 30th Independence: Alabama vs. Colorado December 31st Armed Forces: Air Force vs. California Sun: South Florida vs. Oregon Humanitarian: Fresno State vs. Georgia Tech Music City: Florida State vs. Kentucky Insight: Oklahoma State vs. Indiana Chick-fil-A: Clemson vs. Auburn January 1st Outback: Wisconsin vs. Tennessee Cotton: Arkansas vs. Missouri Gator: Texas Tech vs. Virginia Capital One: Michigan vs. Florida Rose: USC vs. Illinois Sugar: Georgia vs. Hawaii January 2nd Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. West Virginia January 3rd Orange: Virginia Tech vs. Kansas January 5th International: Ball State vs. Rutgers January 6th GMAC: Bowling Green vs. Tulsa January 7th BCS: Ohio State vs. LSU Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the BCS Championship Game? 45 Tiebreak #2: How many total yards of offense will there be in the BCS Championship Game? 502